러시아ㆍ유라시아

Since 2007, the European Union has developed a strategy towards Central Asia. Relations with the region have created an opportunity to focus on a wider spectrum of interests across different levels of EU foreign policy. This article examines the “two-level game” between EU member states (from Central Europe) and EU institutions in Brussels regarding economic interests versus values agenda with the focus on Kazakhstan. In this game, the EU’s member states focus on developing trade and economic relations while they let space for the EU’s institutions to discuss sensitive issues, such as democracy promotion and human rights dialogue. This is the case for the Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) that prefer a pragmatic approach towards Kazakhstan as the most important country in the Central Asian region.