Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-18-Speech-3-305"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080618.25.3-305"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, with a new Russian President in office, as has just been said, and also with our mandate finally in place to negotiate a new agreement with Russia, I think we have an opportunity to redefine this essential partnership with our largest neighbour based on a number of common interests. Getting the EU-Russia relationship right is one of the most important challenges in European foreign policy: we all know that.
We are often close partners with Russia in tackling international challenges, for example as members of the Middle East Quartet – most probably we will again be in Berlin next week – but we also need, as our colleague has said, to see a Russia that pursues a positive agenda with its other neighbours; so it is true that we are concerned that recent Russian moves in Georgia could undermine stability in the region. Therefore during my visit to Moscow some 10 days ago I had a very long conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov in which I discussed this important issue.
We should gradually establish with Russia a continuous high-level non-confrontational dialogue covering all the aspects of conflict resolution, including peace-keeping and peace mechanism aspects, since Russia indeed will clearly remain an essential actor in any peace efforts regarding the frozen conflicts.
On the other hand, it is natural that Tbilisi is seriously concerned about maintaining its territorial integrity and in the summit discussion on frozen conflicts we will certainly firmly underline that Georgian and Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected; but I think we also need to be pragmatic, realistic and have an inclusive approach from the Georgian side.
In my regular contacts with both Georgia and Russia, I am indeed urging pragmatism and an end to the setting of mutually exclusive conditions: these will not work.
In conclusion, the EU-Russia Summit is a chance to embark on a constructive relationship with the new administration, defending our values and promoting our common interests. I look forward to your input and to the discussion in the House.
The launch of negotiations will be the centrepiece of the first EU-Russia Summit with President Medvedev in Khanty-Mansiysk at the end of June. Right after that the negotiators will begin the first session of their work.
The new agreement between the EU and Russia gives us the chance to update the legal framework underpinning our relationship so as to reflect the substantial changes in both Russia and the European Union, because we have changed a lot since the current partnership and cooperation agreement was negotiated in the 1990s. I believe it will also help us to unlock the potential of our relationship, because there is huge potential, and to pursue the interests of our Member States much more vigorously.
The hallmarks should be: results-orientated political cooperation, deep economic integration, a level playing field for our energy relations enshrining the principles at least of the Energy Charter Treaty, and ever closer relations in the field of freedom, security and justice, as well as a progressive opening of our educational and scientific systems to each other.
At the same time, we should continue to implement the cooperation with Russia under the four common spaces, which the President-in-Office of the Council has just mentioned, and their road maps. They indeed comprise a wide range of actions giving concrete expression to this strategic partnership.
The new agreement should also provide the legal framework to build on these for the future.
The summit will also be an opportunity to hear at first hand where President Medvedev sees Russia’s priorities with the European Union. I think we always have to look to what he has said, for example in an important
interview where he said he wants more rule of law in Russia and he also wants a greater modernisation of the Russian economy. Of course, we will judge him by his deeds.
While there will certainly be, at the beginning, strong continuity of policies in Russia, the new President has stressed his commitment to the rule of law and the modernisation of the Russian economy, and I think we should encourage him to match all his words with clear action, and with action that should happen soon.
While we pursue our common interests with Russia, we must nevertheless remain clear and firm on democracy and human rights. We will continue to remind Russia of the commitments that we have both signed up to, notably, for instance, with the Council of Europe and also the OSCE."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples