The issue of investment reciprocity will be one of the most crucial issues in Russia-EU relations over the next several years. It was identified as one of the top priorities by Russian and the EU political leaders (both by the EU and by each of the EU member-states), and declared to be so in the majority of Russia-EU strategic and program documents. This issue was also, to a great extent, considered to be one of the prerequisites for the platform of the future stability and integration of all sides.

The revolutionary events of 1989-1991 in Central and Eastern Europe, crowned by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc, triggered a long and dramatic process in the history of the European states.

The main lesson from the past 50 years of European history shows that a nation’s involvement in the ongoing integration process does not necessarily cause it to lose its sovereignty.

16 april 2007 at 17.00 the Center for Comprehensive International and European Studies of the Faculty of World Economics and International Affairs of the State University Higher School of Economics arranged the master-class of I. Ivanov, leading Russian expert on the WTO issues and Russia-EU trade relations