Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-14-Speech-2-187"
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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, aware of the role played by Russia on the international stage, the European Union has attached particular importance to that country within the framework of its external relations. One of the many examples of this is the summit which is held with Russia every six months under the different Presidencies of the Union.
Secondly, in relation to the development of recent events in the European Union, the Community will report on the state of the enlargement negotiations, the development of the discussions within the framework of the European Convention and the development of the security and defence policy.
With regard to security issues and the joint fight against terrorism, Russia intends to report on the results of the Russia/United States and Russia/NATO Summits – this consultation is of particular importance today, given the announcement of the reduction in nuclear warheads. The situation in terms of cooperation in the fight against terrorism will also be examined. You will understand perfectly that this issue is a priority for both the Union and for the Russian Federation.
Relations between the European Union and Russia must naturally appear in several points on the agenda. A joint declaration to be issued at the end of the summit will include the conclusions by the two parties on the numerous points in the chapter on relations between Russia and the European Union. The declaration will have the same structure as the one relating to the Brussels Summit and will refer to foreign, security and defence policy, cooperation in terms of justice and home affairs, Kaliningrad, the common European economic area, trade and investments, energy dialogue, the environment and nuclear security, and scientific, technological and space cooperation. I will comment briefly on all of these issues.
With regard to international issues of mutual interest, both parties have named the Middle East, Afghanistan and the Balkans as priority issues, for which the exchange of information is particularly useful, since both the European Union and the Russian Federation share concerns and responsibilities in these areas. Furthermore, the European Union has particular interest in cooperating with the Russian Federation on the prevention of conflicts in areas of common interest, such as Moldavia, especially in relation to the Trans-Dniéster conflict.
With regard to the issues relating to foreign, security and defence policy, at this Russia/EU Summit we hope to agree an ad hoc declaration on the strengthening of dialogue and cooperation in the political and security fields. The declaration must reflect the progress observed in the implementation of the new cooperation mechanisms agreed at the Brussels Summit. Furthermore, the declaration must refer to the document which we hope will be adopted at the European Council in Seville on means of cooperation and consultation between the European Union and Russia in terms of crisis management. This important document will involve the development and establishment of the general principles for cooperation between the European Union and Russia in this field, which were adopted at the previous Paris, Moscow and Brussels Summits, and at the European Council in Nice.
With regard to cooperation on justice and home affairs, there has already been one result which the summit will acknowledge, which was the meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of the Russian Federation and the European Union, which took place on 25 April on the initiative of the Presidency of the Union. This has been the first time that Ministers from the Union and the Russian Federation have met to discuss common issues which fundamentally involve the whole issue of organised crime, immigration problems and the fight against terrorism. One of the significant results of this ministerial meeting is the approval of a joint resolution on the designation of central points of contact for the exchange of information on organised crime within the framework of the Action Plan to combat organised crime in Russia.
The ministers also dealt with the situation of Kaliningrad, which is of particular interest to Russia. I would like to refer to this next, because the situation of the Kaliningrad enclave is an issue of particular importance in terms of relations between Russia and the European Union. In the very near future this Russian enclave, which is currently surrounded by Lithuania and Poland, will become an enclave within Community territory, when these two countries join the Union. Therefore, in terms of its relations with the European Union, it is one of Russia’s priorities to find a satisfactory solution, above all, to the problems of the free movement of people.
This fundamental problem of the movement and transit of persons stems from the transit between the enclave and the rest of the territory of the Russian Federation between the time when the candidate countries join the Union and the time when they fully apply the Schengen legislation.
This issue was dealt with at the meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers between the Fifteen and Russia, which I mentioned previously, and the Russian Federation communicated a memorandum on this issue. This issue was also dealt with during the recent visit by Prime Minister Kassianov to the European Commission. Naturally, Russia’s positions do not entirely coincide with what the Member States have agreed and we as Presidency have made considerable efforts to create a common approach, and in producing it we have taken particular account, of course, of the interests of Poland and Lithuania given that they are future Members of the Union which have been kept informed of the progress of the exchanges with Russia on this issue. This common line has been confirmed by COREPER and has been communicated to the Russians.
In terms of socio-economic problems, various activities which are at the preparatory or the implementation stage are going to require a sum of some EUR 40 million within the framework of the TACIS programme, intended for a package of measures aimed at implementing various activities within the enclave. To this sum we have to add the bilateral contributions of the Member States. The European Union is naturally prepared to study other formulae along with the Russians for funding which bring the standard of living of the inhabitants of Kaliningrad into line with the general economic context of the area surrounding it, essentially the two Member States, Poland and Lithuania, which we hope will very soon be members of our Union.
In June 1999, the European Union adopted a common strategy with regard to Russia, the ultimate aim of which is to strengthen the strategic association between Russia and the European Union. The fundamental intention of this is to promote the consolidation of democracy, the Rule of Law and the market economy in Russia and to increase the stability of Europe, promoting global security and confronting the common challenges facing the European continent by means of intensified cooperation.
With regard to the common European economic area, which is another of the great issues in this bilateral relationship, the high-level group for the development of the concept of the common European economic area was formally established on 6 March 2002 and it met on 26 March. In December 2001 the first informal meeting took place. The summit will receive a provisional report on this issue, which will form the basis of the ad hoc declaration suggested by Russia. The Union would like to achieve a declaration by Russia of their intention to adopt European levels, bringing their legislation closer to the Community
. At the Commission’s meeting with Prime Minister Kassianov, which I mentioned earlier, the Russian Prime Minister indicated that he was aware that the majority of the work of legislative approximation falls to Russia and the results of the high-level group will be presented at the Autumn Summit 2003.
I will now comment on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation. Negotiations are continuing in relation to that accession following the significant impulse they have been given since last Autumn. Currently, the main differences relate to the agricultural, services and telecommunications sectors. At the meeting with Prime Minister Kassianov, the Commissioner responsible for Commercial Affairs, Mr Lamy, indicated that the Russian declaration on energy prices would also be a condition for progress in negotiations relating to the WTO. In short, it does not appear that there will be any substantial progress between now and the summit. At that summit the desire to promote the process will be demonstrated by the high frequency of meetings.
This issue bears some relation to the consideration of Russia as a market economy. This is one of Russia’s main priorities within its relations with the European Union and at the recent meeting both Commissioner Patten, who is here today, and Commissioner Lamy, indicated to Mr Kassianov that the Commission was willing to study the possibility of granting Russia the status of a market economy. Although I should point out that the Presidency has detected, in its exchanges with the Member countries, that there are still some difficulties in terms of the internal sensitivities within the Union’s industrial sectors and in terms of the negotiations with the Russians, which, as I have said, are continuing. The Presidency at least hopes to achieve a solution in principle which is acceptable to both parties before the summit.
With regard to these two issues: the WTO and Russia’s status as a market economy, one of the most important points in the relationship between the European Union and Russia is the energy dialogue. Amongst the main Russian concerns in this field are the possible negative consequences of enlargement for its energy exports to the new Member States, as well as the attention to capital originating from the European Union necessary for the modernisation of its infrastructures. For its part, the Union insists on the need to create the best possible conditions for foreign investment.
Something else the Community has constantly demanded is the ratification by Russia of the Treaty we negotiated many years ago, the so-called energy charter and the transit protocol. We hope that at this summit a declaration will be adopted on the energy dialogue, as the Russians have proposed.
Also relating to energy is the issue of nuclear security, in turn determined by respect for the environment. In relation to this issue of the environment and nuclear security, the Community has indicated to Russia that one of the results we would like to achieve at the summit would be a commitment from Russia to ratify the text of the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible. To this end, prior to the Barcelona European Council, the President of the Council and the Commission, Mr Aznar and Mr Prodi respectively, addressed a letter to President Putin. With regard to nuclear security, our interest focuses on the signing by Russia of the agreement known as the Multilateral Nuclear and Environment Program in the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that at the 5th EU/Russia Cooperation Council in Luxembourg on 16 April, the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Ivanov, announced that the outstanding issues relating to the signature of this agreement had been resolved, at the last minute problems have arisen on the Russian side which may delay this signature.
Furthermore, I would like to stress the importance of environmental aspects in the implementation of the northern dimension action plan.
Another issue is that of scientific and technological cooperation. Since the entry into force of the cooperation agreement with Russia relating to science and technology last May, cooperative relations in this field have made progress. This instrument, together with the international ITER agreement, forms the current basis of our joint work. It is possible that Russia will present its idea of establishing a joint research and technology centre in the Arctic. In principle, the idea may be included within the framework of our scientific and technological cooperation, but we will need to know more details about the nature of the Russian proposals.
Given that the Arctic is an important source of energy supply for the European Union, we should analyse the possibility of including the centre in the field of energy dialogue.
In conclusion, the 9th Summit will be an opportunity to assess the various aspects of our relations with Russia and to establish new cooperation objectives for the future. We also hope that it will strengthen the already considerable dialogue between the Union and Russia and that opinions will be exchanged on issues of current international importance. This will thereby strengthen the strategic association between the Union and Russia, which is based on a range of shared values, the essential components of which are democracy, the Rule of Law and respect for human rights.
The 9th EU/Russia Summit will take place in Moscow on 29 May; during that summit we will assess the progress in our relations in various areas, on the basis of the results achieved since the last summit, which took place in Brussels last October. We will take note of the progress made since then and establish new objectives for our relations.
There have been numerous meetings between the European Union and Russia since the last summit in Brussels. The cooperation agreement, which is the contractual basis of our relations, has proved to be an enormously effective instrument in terms of a fluid dialogue in all its various aspects. Furthermore, the orientations established by the Laeken European Council, have set concrete guidelines for the Union’s policy on Russia.
An important contribution to the preparation of the summit, the agenda for which is being finalised at the moment, has been made by the 5th EU/Russia Cooperation Council, held in Luxemburg on 16 April. The formal preparation of the summit has begun with various working meetings held in Brussels by the Presidency, the Commission and the Secretary-General of the Council with the Russians on 29 April and 13 May. There were also contacts in Brussels on 23 April between President Prodi, accompanied naturally by the Commissioner responsible for External Relations, Mr Patten, and the Russian Prime Minister, Mr Kassianov, for the preparation of the summit.
Also in Moscow, on 27 May, on the eve of this meeting, the deputy Vice-President of the Spanish Government, Mr Rato, together with the Commissioner responsible for European Union economic affairs, Mr Solbes, will make a presentation of the euro to the Russian financial sector. On that same day there will be a conference in Moscow on the integration of the European Union and Russia in the twenty-first century with the participation of various representatives of the Russian Government, the Commission and myself representing the Presidency.
It is important to point out that the Russia/EU Summit will take place soon after the Russia/US Summit, when President Bush will be in Moscow. This meeting between Russia and the United States will take place between 24 and 26 June. And just a day after the NATO/Russia Summit, our summit with Russia will take place, on 29 May. There is therefore a sequence of events which will consist of Russia holding a summit with the United States on 24 to 26 May, then, on 28 May, the agreement with NATO will be signed in Rome, and this will be followed by the Russia/EU Summit in Moscow.
With regard to the contents of the summit, the European Union and Russia have so far agreed a draft agenda covering the following points: recent events in the Russian Federation and in the European Union, security issues and the fight against terrorism, Russia/EU relations and international issues relating to the different regions of the world. I am going to expand on some of these points.
Firstly, with regard to recent events in the Russian Federation, the summit will deal fully with the reform process under way."@en1
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