EU and Russia to sign cooperation pact
Mark Tran and agencies
,360 4,1480670,00.html
Tuesday May 10, 2005
The EU and Russia have moved closer to the creation of a single market
with an agreement covering the economy and external security, the
Russian foreign ministry said today. Agreement on a wide-ranging
treaty came a day after world leaders gathered in Moscow for an
elaborate parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of the
second world war.
The pact, which is due to be signed today, covers four key areas – the
economy; freedom, security and justice; external security; and
research, education and science – in which the EU and Russia promise
to speed up cooperation.
The agreement will be signed against a background of lingering
mistrust between the two powers, analysts said.”Many Russian leaders
now view the EUas a hostile power that is expanding into Russia’s
traditional sphere of influence,” according to a recent paper by
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Research, a
London think tank.
“The EU, meanwhile, has become increasingly concerned about Russia’s
eroding democratic standards and weak regard for human rights.”
The EU, for example, criticised the Russian president, Vladimir Putin,
last November for interfering in the disputed Ukrainian election that
triggered the country’s “orange revolution”.
EU expansion eastwards to include a string of Baltic and east European
nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union has also generated
tension. The accession to the EU of Latvia and Lithuania has sparked
resentment in Russia, which has accused the Baltic republics of
discriminating against Russian-speaking minorities. But the EU and
Russia have many reasons to improve relations. The EU is Moscow’s
largest trading partner with over half of Russia’s exports going to
the bloc, while Russia supplies the EU with around one fifth of its
oil and gas needs. Bilateral trade came to â=82¬97.3bn (£66.4bn) in
2004.
Until recently, European officials said they were far from a
partnership deal. On the eve of the signing ceremony, key disputes
remained but the EU insisted they would be ironed out in the months
ahead.
Russia’s demand for visa-free travel is one area of contention. The EU
will only agree to such a move if Moscow agrees to take back nationals
and others who have entered the EU illegally from Russia. The EU also
wants Russia to phase out Siberia overflight charges on western
European airlines.
The goal of the treaty is a single EU-Russian market with no barriers
to trade, combined with economic reforms and good economic governance
in Russia. Both parties are also seeking more cooperation on
investments, financial services, telecommunications, transport, energy
and the environment.
The EU is particularly interested in assisting Russia to end “frozen
conflicts” in the former Soviet region – Trans-Dniester in Moldova,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh in
Azerbaijan. It also wants to help Moscow address poverty and human
rights abuses in these areas, which the EUsees as sources of potential
instability.
The EU desire for better ties with Russia stems partly from its energy
needs. The natural gas monopoly Gazprom provides a quarter of
Europe’s gas, and the EU buys 85% of Russian oil exports.
Energy is expected to become an even bigger focus in negotiations
starting next month, when the UK – whose North Sea oil and gas fields
are dwindling – takes over the EU presidency.