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Third. In the discourse of the European Union, the link between stress resistance and external threats has become stronger. At the same time, terrorism and the energy supply have faded into the background, and disinformation and threats in the cyber environment have come to the fore. Russia in the discourse of the European Union has retained its (leading) position as the main source of these threats, but the topic of the dangers emanating from China has also become more active. The need to ensure the EU's stress tolerance in relation to disinformation and cybersecurity was clearly expressed in the European Council's statement in March of this year, and in the Communique from the European Commission in June this year, as well as in the programme of the troika of Presidents of the Council of Ministers.

Moreover, the Accounts Chamber has assessed the effectiveness of the EU's actions in the field of disinformation as an important aspect of ensuring the EU's stress resistance. Disinformation manifests itself in the context of how to more effectively combat the pandemic with medical means, and trust in the official authorities in general. The topic of cyber-threat turned out to be in demand due to the increased importance of telecommunication structures in politics and economics, especially given the growing importance of remote forms of interaction. But there were also accusations of attempts to steal the scientific results on vaccines from the EU.

Fourth, the EU focuses both on the development of citizens and public resources, as well as on official structures becoming more active. The latter were key during the course of the pandemic, but the EU discourse is now shifting in favour of giving more responsibility to citizens and public structures. In other words, the question of the resources of resilience remains open.

Finally, the term "resilience" has been voiced in recent weeks in the context of the EU's intention to ensure greater independence in the world arena. This is not directly related to the pandemic. The impetus was the restrictive new US measures against Nord Stream 2 and the desire to protect EU companies from secondary US sanctions. But from the point of view of the discourse on stress resistance, this is confirmed by the increasingly active use of this concept in relation to the integration association, and not to countries outside the Union, and the emphasis is on threats. Actions in this direction, if successful, can restore the effectiveness of the most powerful instrument of the EU's external action, its trade policy and economic ties. In recent years, their effectiveness has been reduced by the activity of the United States in the imposition of sanctions and its legislation, and the practice of applying secondary sanctions against all companies throughout the world.

Thus, the pandemic has contributed to a significant transformation of the EU's discourse on resilience to stress.

What significance can this have for Russia? First, the priority of internal problems also means the preservation of the deplorable state of relations between Moscow and Brussels. The appetite for drastic changes in foreign policy in Brussels was limited, even before, and has now almost disappeared. At the same time, the emphasis on the Green Deal as the basis for enhancing the EU's stress resistance threatens the closeness of cooperation between Russia and the EU in the energy sector: the fate of this interaction depends on whether gas finds a place in the process of the decarbonisation of the EU economy.

Second, the decline in normative rhetoric due to the transformation of the discourse on stress resistance does not mean that these values should be abandoned in the context of external relations.

Third, maintaining an emphasis on the threats to the EU's resistance to stress and perceptions of Russia as one of their sources is also negative, not only for official contacts, but also for the dialogue among civic groups, in which Brussels has seen an opportunity to compensate for stingy contacts with the Russian state officials. The general mistrust of Russia extends to the effectiveness of its fight against the pandemic, as it blocked the opening of its borders. And this, in turn, continues the trend of a catastrophic decline in the mutual socialisation of partners. Well, the vast benefits from strengthening the EU's stress resistance in terms of countering secondary US sanctions can hardly be expected, except the completion of the long-suffering Nord Stream 2.

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The Concept of Resilience in the European Union amid the Pandenic Era - Valdai Discussion Club