EU, Russia Agree to Launch Key Partnership Talks – Slovene Report

Text of report in English by Slovene news agency STA,

Khanty-Mansiysk, 27 June: EU and Russia formally endorsed Friday the start of talks on a wide-ranging new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which will replace the existing, decade-old accord, and is expected to put the weighty relationship on a new footing.

Once finalized, the agreement will form the basis of a long-term strategic partnership between the EU and Russia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told the press. “The future agreement will be an instrument to bring Russia and the EU closer.”

The launch of the talks confirms positive expectations for a new beginning, added Slovene Prime Minister and European Council President Janez Jansa. He said the agreement must create conditions allowing Russia and the EU to respond to new challenges.

Negotiations will start in Brussels on 4 July and the 1997 agreement, which has already been extended, will remain in place until the new document is finalized.

The aim of the talks is to “conclude a strategic agreement that will provide a comprehensive network for EU-Russia relations for the foreseeable future and help to develop the potential of our relationship,” reads the joint statement from the summit.

Medvedev said the agreement would be concise without any excessive details. The focus will be on the strategic character of cooperation plus on sectoral agreements dealing with economic issues and the environment, freedom, security and justice, external security and research and education.

The roadmaps for these areas “will be the most important documents for us in the medium term,” said Medvedev, adding that they would form the bedrock of ties.

Energy security was the top priority at the summit, as the EU seeks access to upstream assets in Russia’s oil and gas fields, whereas Russian energy companies are eager to increase their foothold downstream, on the EU’s distribution market.

Medvedev said that Russia would proceed with its plans to build the North Stream and South Stream gas pipelines to Germany and Italy respectively.

“Russia remains a key energy supplier for the EU and the EU will remain Russia’s most important export market,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, adding that energy security was paramount.

Overall, the EU officials underlined that the EU-Russia relationship needed a new framework to better address the challenges that they will face in the future, such as climate change, food security, financial instability, energy stability and the frozen conflicts.

“This is a very important document for the future of our very comprehensive relations,” Barroso said.

Jansa noted that the main challenges facing Russia and the EU have their origins at the global level. “These demand more than just short-term measures, they require strategic partnership and cooperation,” he said.

As part of efforts to tackle global challenges, the two sides also talked about President Medvedev’s ideas for a new framework of cooperation spanning the area “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”, which is seen as a call on the EU to reduce its security dependence on the US.

“Europe is our common home and all of us are the states who are masters of this home…One cannot outsource the maintenance of one’s home to another person,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev said that existing organizations such as NATO and the OSCE, which roughly cover this area, were inadequately equipped to face future challenges. “None is capable of resolving these matters to the full extent.”

He called for a summit of European countries plus the US, Canada and relevant regional organizations which are based on “principles that unite us”. He said such a summit could produce a pan-European agreement adequately providing for security.

As the Slovene prime minister put it, there are many organizations in Eurasia which are tasked with safeguarding peace and security.

They were the right response to the visions of the time when they were set up, but “there are still issues which are not included in the programmes of these organizations, for example the security consequences of climate change.”

Jansa believes that Medvedev’s thesis – that there are three heirs of European culture, the EU, North America and Russia – tackled this debate from the right angle. “Only a security organization based on values can be permanent, successful and cohesive.”

The summit was seen by analysts as a test on whether the new Russian president would prove to be more flexible than his predecessor Vladimir Putin, whose tough stance often aggravated relations with the EU.

But the officials were eager to downplay the importance of personae. “Leaders can make a great contribution, but we have to look at long-term strategic relations,” Barroso said.

“We are writing a new page. It is very important to look at the future,” added the EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

At a summit where both delegations were chaired by Slavic countries, the officials showered Slovenia with praise for how it navigated its six-month stint at the helm of the EU.

The Slovene presidency has been extremely successful from Russia’s perspective, said Medvedev, who complimented Jansa on doing preparatory work that made it possible to launch the talks on the new strategic partnership.

The presidency has been extremely successful and the achievements in Russia are proof of that, added Barroso.

Originally published by STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1556 27 Jun 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring European. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.