The US and the EU in CEA: Relations With Regional Powers

The US and the EU are important external actors in the post-Soviet CEA region. One challenge confronting US policymakers is balancing commercial interests in the region with security interests and foreign policy goals. These include a desire to contain Iran, partly because of its support for radical Islamic forces in the Middle East, to prevent regional conflicts, assist NATO-member Turkey—a critical ally in an area that is of top US-security interest, and to normalize its relations with China, whose military potential and alliance with Russia is perceived as a threat to its own security interests. Commercially, the EU is not as involved in CEA as the US. The main powers in the EU—Britain, France and Germany— give priority to other regions over CEA. Britain puts emphasis on the Baltic States, France focuses on North Africa, and Germany has been more preoccupied with the development of Eastern Europe. As a group, the member countries of the EU act mostly in the context of economic assistance and diplomatic contacts. Military agreements have been signed on a bilateral basis mostly with Georgia.