DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2524-048X.2026.33.3

 

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of the European Union’s foreign policy towards the states of Central Asia during the period from 1991 to 2024. The study aims to identify the patterns underlying the transition from a technical and humanitarian model of interaction (the TACIS programme) to the contemporary strategy of asserting the EU’s geopolitical actorness in the region. Methodology. The research is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systemic analysis. A chronological method is employed to periodise EU–Central Asia relations; a comparative-historical method is used to analyse changes in the EU’s strategic priorities in 2007 and 2019; and a retrospective analysis is applied to assess the effectiveness of early technical assistance programmes in the context of Brussels’ current logistics and energy policies. Scientific novelty. The article is the first to conceptualise the evolution of EU policy in Central Asia not merely as a shift in economic priorities, but as a process of the Union’s gradual acquisition of the role of an autonomous geopolitical actor («geopolitical actorness»). The authors argue that early programmes (TACIS, TRACECA) laid the necessary institutional foundation that enabled the EU, in the 2020s, to move towards the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects (Global Gateway) amid the active displacement of Russian influence in the region. Conclusions. It is demonstrated that the formation of EU policy in Central Asia has evolved from passive technocratic donor engagement to active strategic partnership. The study finds that the TACIS programme played a critical role in stabilising the region in the 1990s; however, its limitations necessitated the development of specialised strategic frameworks. The current stage of interaction is characterised by pragmatism, with energy security and the development of the Trans-Caspian «Middle Corridor» emerging as key elements in consolidating Europe’s position as an influential pole of power in the heart of Eurasia. In the longer term, the further development of relations will depend on the EU’s ability to balance economic interests with the promotion of political stability, sustainable development, and regional security. At the same time, the effectiveness of the European presence in Central Asia will be shaped by competition with other global actors and by the flexibility of the Union’s foreign policy instruments.

Key words: European Union, Central Asia, TACIS programme, foreign policy, geopolitical actorness, strategic partnership, energy security.

 

Submitted 12.10.2025

---

Download

---

References:

1. Voloshenko, I. (2015). Heopolitychni interesy svitovykh tsentriv syly v Tsentralnii Azii. Heostratehichni prioritety Ukrainy v politychnii, ekonomichnii, pravovii ta informatsiinii sferakh : materialy naukovoyi konferentsiyi (s. 5–6). nats. un-t im. Tarasa Shevchenka, In-t mizhnar. Vidnosyn. [In Ukrainian].
2. Husak, O. (2025). Vplyv rosiisko-ukrainskoi viiny na rehionalnu polityku krain Tsentralnoi Azii ta Kavkazu. Aktualnist ta perspektyvy. Ch. 2 : materialy VI Mizhnarodnoyi naukovo-metodychnoyi konferentsiy (s. 173–175). Kharkiv : KhNPU im. H.S. Skovorody. [In Ukrainian].
3. Demenko, O. (2019). Tsentralna Aziia v suchasnii systemi mizhnarodnoi bezpeky. Problemy vsesvitnoi istorii, 9, 146–160. [In Ukrainian].
4. Derzhavy Tsentralnoi Azii v konteksti konkurentsii svitovykh aktoriv pislia pochatku shyrokomasshtabnoho vtorhnennia Rosii v Ukrainu. (2024). Kyiv : NISD. [In Ukrainian].
5. Doroshko, M.S., & Shpakova, N.V. (2010). Derzhavy postradianskoho prostoru u svitovii politytsi. : Znannia. [In Ukrainian].
6. Doroshko, M., & Voloshenko, I. (2019). Polityka yevropeiskoho soiuzu na postradianskomu prostori Tsentralnoi Azii: teoretychni ta prykladni aspekty. Visnyk Kyivskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni Tarasa Shevchenka, 2(50), 5–12. [In Ukrainian].
7. Doslidzhennia staloho transportnoho spoluchennia z Tsentralnoiu Aziieiu. Retrieved from: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/international-relations/study-sustainable-transport-connections-central-asia_en?utm_source=chatgpt.com. [In Ukrainian].
8. Levyk, B. (2014). Postradianski respubliky Tsentralnoi Azii v umovakh heopolitychnykh vyklykiv naprykintsi XX – pochatku XXI st. Donetsk : TOV «Skhidnyi vydavnychyi dim». [In Ukrainian].
9. Norlinh, N. (2007). Polityka YeS shchodo Tsentralnoi Azii: pryiniattia novoho stratehichnoho dokumenta na 2007–2013 roky. Tsentralna Aziia ta Kavkaz, 8 (3), 7–15. [in Ukrainian].
10. Transformatsiini peretvorennia u krainakh postradianskoho prostoru: problemy ta vyklyky. (2021). Kyiv: Derzhavna ustanova «Instytut vsesvitnoi istorii NAN Ukrainy». [In Ukrainian].
11. Boonstra, J. (2019). The EU Strategy for Central Asia: Says Little, Asks Much. EUCAM Policy Brief, 42, 3–5. [In English].
12. Council of the European Union. The EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership. (2007). Retrieved from: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10113-2007-INIT/en/pdf. [In English].
13. EEAS Global Gateway. Strategic partnership with Kazakhstan. Retrieved from: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/countries/kazakhstan_en?utm_source=chatgpt.com. [In English].
14. European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport. (2023). Study on sustainable transport connections between Europe and Central Asia. Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/4360ea36-a75a-47e5-8b6f-84a9bde66a02_en?filename=Sustainable_transport_connections_between_Europe_and_Central_Asia.pdf. [In English].
15. Emerson, M. (2010). Into Eurasia: Monitoring the EU’s Central Asia Strategy. CEPS, 24–28. [In English].
16. Global Gateway: €10 billion commitment to invest in Trans Caspian Transport Corridor connecting Europe and Central Asia announced at Investors Forum. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_501. [In English].
17. INOGATE Programme. Retrieved from: https://ua.linkedin.com/company/inogate-programme?trk=ppro_cprof. [In English].
18. Into Eurasia: Monitoring the EU’s Central Asia Strategy. (2010). Madrid: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). [In English].
19. Laruelle, M., & Peyrouse, S. (2013). Globalizing Central Asia: Geopolitics and the Challenges of Economic Development. [In English].
20. Manners, I. (2002). Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms? Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (2), 235–258. Retrieved from: https://www.princeton.edu/~amoravcs/library/mannersnormativepower.pdf. [In English].
21. Melvin, N. (2008). Engaging Central Asia: The European Union’s New Strategy in the Heart of Eurasia. CEPS. Retrieved from: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/56007/CEPS%20Pb%202008-05%20Engaging%20Central%20Asia.pdf. [In English].
22. The European Union and Central Asia. (2011). London. [In English].
23. The EU and Central Asia: New Opportunities for a Stronger Partnership. (2019). Joint communication to the European Parliament and the Council Retrieved from: https://surl.li/omaqpz. [In English]
24. The European Commission’s Tacis Programme 1991 – 2006. Retrieved from: https://www.osce.org/sites/default/files/f/documents/2/1/34459.pdf. [In English].
25. Russell, M. (2019). The EU’s New Strategy on Central Asia. Retrieved from: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/633162/EPRS_BRI(2019)633162_EN.pdf. [In English].