The Role of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership in Interdependence Between the European Union and Russia

One of the significant impacts of globalization is the increasing interdependence between countries through political, economic, cultural, technological, environmental and other areas of cooperation. This interdependence deepens trust between countries, making it less likely for such countries to resort to military force in response to potential problems between them. In addition, interdependence provides opportunities for countries to develop common policies against soft security threats such as terrorism, illegal immigration, and trafficking in arms, people and drugs. With these benefits in mind, the European Union has aimed to develop interdependence with Russia in the post-Cold War era as one of its foreign policy priorities. This led, as a result of Finland's initiatives, to the European Union creating the Northern Dimension. This study aims to analyze the role of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership, one of the thematic partnerships of the Northern Dimension, in the development of interdependence between the European Union and Russia. The study argues that various projects, successfully developed in environmental protection and nuclear safety under the framework of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership, have significantly contributed to increasing economic interdependence between the two partners.