Analysis of European Union's approach to Ukraine crisis within the context of the European neighborhood policy

This thesis seeks to analyze European Union's crisis management in response to the outbreak of the 2014 Ukraine Crisis following the annexation of Crimea by Russia. With the 2014 Ukraine Crisis, whose seeds were sown in November 2013 with the 'Maidan' or later referred as the 'Euromaidan' protests and which was exacerbated by the annexation of the Crimea by Russia, the European Union faced one of the most critical security challenges in the post-Cold War period. The aggressive policy which has been followed by Russia along the Ukrainian border has threatened political integrity of the borderline state, toward which the European Union has conducted European Neighborhood Policy and this has negatively influenced the atmosphere of stability and peace in Europe established in the aftermath of the bipolar world order. The 2014 Ukraine Crisis has also damaged political and economic relations between the Western states and Russia. Seeking to act within the framework of crisis management, the European Union and its member states adopted a number of sanctions against Russia's invading policy, but the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War which started in February 2022 has led to a new Ukraine crisis causing questioning of the European Union's crisis management performance. Keywords: EU, Ukraine, Annexation of Crimea, European Neighborhood Policy, Russia, Ukraine Crisis