O POVAHE TZV. UKRAJINSKEJ KRÍZY

This article aims at identifying a nature of the current Russo-Ukrainian crisis. It argues that the crisis is not accidental and short term episode, but it is necessary and objective outcome displaying long term development trends in and/or of Europe after the end of bipolar conflict. The author backs his argument by comparing different integration dynamics in the Western and Eastern parts of Europe. The collapse of the communist block helped to deepen the integration process in the Western part of Europe and it also pushed the EU to be more engaged in its neighbourhood through offering integration perspective to former communist countries as well as through offering European perspective to the Western Balkans. The Eastern partnership with the association agreement, including Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, has become the EU response on Russia’s military intervention against Georgia in August 2008. The EU failed to establish a joint European project under the name of Common Spaces with Russia (2003-2006), therefore, confrontation between two integration projects in Europe - the one led by the EU and the other one by Russia - has to appear sooner or later.