European Parliament Plenary Debate on Russia

European Parliament, Brussels

26 February 2004

Those of you who read the Financial Times, or indeed the Moscow Times, will recognise that European Union (EU)/Russia co-operation is not always as straightforward as it could be. I regret that deeply. Why? Because a stable and constructive relationship with Russia is essential to the EU; and because a stable and constructive relationship with the EU is essential to Russia. It is clearly in our interest to try to promote close ties with an open, stable and democratic Russia, acting as a reliable partner which can uphold European values, continue reforms, implement commitments and, in cooperation with the EU, play a constructive role in the Newly Independent States (NIS).

The Communication adopted by the Commission on 9 February, which heavily influenced the report discussed by the Foreign Ministers on Monday, took as its starting point the interdependence of the EU and Russia and our wish to build a genuine strategic partnership, based on shared values and driven by our evident common interests.

There are positive elements to the relationship. But, overall, we have to accept that the results of five years of increasingly intensive co-operation are not as positive as we expected, and we have to do something about that.

There were three important outcomes from the review of EU/Russia relations discussed on Monday:

First, a strong, clear and public message was passed to Russia that we expect the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) to be extended to the ten acceding Member States without precondition or distinction by 1 May, 2004. The Commission has held intensive discussions with Russia. We hope that we have been able to convince our interlocutors that that the question of extending the PCA must be rapidly settled. The EU, for its part, is ready, in parallel to the extension of the PCA, to discuss any of Russia's legitimate concerns over the impact of enlargement.

Second, the Ministers confirmed the importance of the EU's relations with Russia. It was agreed that the EU should engage with Russia and be ready to discuss all complex issues of mutual interest and that, as part of this approach, the EU should stress that its partnership with Russia is not only driven by common interests but also founded on shared values.

This implies discussing frankly Russian practices that run counter to European values, such as human rights in Chechnya, media freedom and co-operation on the environment and, it involves not hesitating to defend EU interests vigorously.

Third, the Ministers recognised the need for the EU to change the way in which it does business with Russia, to become more 'joined up', to use bureaucratic terminology. It was agreed that the EU should establish clear, agreed objectives and positions ahead of every meeting with Russia. If we wish to build what can honestly be described as a strategic partnership, EU messages must be balanced and coherent, and our ambitious political declarations must be matched by progress on substance.

This requires better co-ordination between policies defined at EU level and the approach of individual Member States to relations with Russia. Why, for example, is it that the EU subscribes to joint statements with Russia, in which we agree to step up co-operation on crisis management, yet the EU is unable to convince Russia to work with it to resolve the very real problems in Moldova and the Southern Caucasus? Why, in addition, do we see individual Member States agree to facilitate visas for Russia, at the same time as Russia is blocking conclusion of a re-admission agreement?

Many of these views are shared by the Belder report, which is a welcome contribution to the debate on EU/Russia relations.

Our task now is to translate words into action and to establish a more coherent, strategic approach to Russia, reflecting the views of the enlarged Union. It is important that the EU can make real progress in its work with Russia.

This matters to business people wishing to gain access to the promising Russian market remember, after all, that post-enlargement, more than 50% of Russia's trade will be with the EU. It also matters to importers of energy, given Russia's position as a major supplier of oil and gas. And not least, it matters because, if we are to tackle cross-border problems such as environmental pollution, illegal migration and organised crime, Russia will have to shoulder more of the burden than hitherto.

Discussions at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) reaffirmed the interest of the EU in promoting integration in the long term, via the creation of a series of common spaces within the framework of the PCA. The Commission has advocated strongly that, once agreement is reached on PCA extension, the EU should be ready to present a draft joint Action Plan to Russia covering all four spaces, consistent with the EU's neighbourhood policy and incorporating relevant elements that are of common interest to the EU and Russia.

This would help to establish an issues-based agenda, focussed on substance, and be a further step towards the strategic partnership that we genuinely want with Russia.