In the wake of the Vilnius Summit in November 2013, the European Union has had to come to grips with a range of geostratic questions that touch upon its relations a part of the world that is central for the Union's security and economic future. Events in the Ukraine have raised questions about what kind of regional and global power is the EU and what instruments it needs to exert its influence with new and emerging powers and partners in a wider European space. The focus of this project is to explore how Europe and emerging powers such as Russia, Iran, China and Central Asian states (RICCA) address key transnational issues such as energy security, economic governance, democracy and human rights and new security challenges. The central objective will be to explore how Europe and the emerging powers understand the use of power and its projection and the consequences this may have for Europe’s relationship with them. It asks whether the RICCA powers able to work alongside a transnational Europe that looks to multilateral and more consensual processes to address domestic and global challenges? Or are we witnessing, especially in light of the economic crisis, a return to the power politics of national states, including European states? Can we develop an international architecture that allows for these different formations and powers?