Business, Values, and EU’s Response to Protests in Ukraine: Cases from 2003-04, 2010, and 2013-14

This book aims to uncover and assess changes in the EU's foreign policy towards Ukraine in the times of wide-scale social protests in Kyiv. To accomplish this task, this book enlists and analyses documents, agreements, and treaties which establish the frameworks for EU-Ukraine cooperation. It also identifies the interests of lobbying groups in Brussels. Finally, it describes the impact of the regional balance of powers on EU-Ukraine relations. This book attempts to specify the nature and structures of drivers behind the EU policy towards Ukraine, as well as uncover the place of human rights in these structures. Based on cases from the Orange Revolution, Tax Maidan, and Euromaidan, the book tests a hypothesis that the wide-scale violations of the right for assembly are enough to downplay the preeminence of the EU's economic objectives. If such violations happen, decision-makers in Brussels switch into the "crisis" management mode on the expense of exploring business opportunities.