Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-200"
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"en.20030115.11.3-200"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the southern parts of Russia, the Caucasus and Caspian Sea regions, are caught up in a vicious circle of conflicts that have been going on for a long time. The United States of America is building – has already built – a network of military bases close to Russia’s southern border. With Azerbaijan and Georgia it is constructing an oil pipeline past Russia to Turkey. The oil pipeline that passes through Chechnya has been damaged by the war.
I would like to say to you all, and especially the Commissioner, that Russia is now turning its attention to its traffic connections and natural resources in the north. Within a short time it will be constructing its second oil port at the end of the Gulf of Finland. An enormous gas pipeline project from the Arctic Ocean, via the Baltic Sea, to Central Europe is already being planned. At the same time trial shipments of oil are being delivered from the Ob delta area to Murmansk and from there to the world markets. In other words, Russia has effected a strategic change, which is beginning to be seen in the activities we are involved in, although these are Russia’s own solutions. Now it is a question of what the role of the European Union is.
As Mr Suominen said, Russia for us is becoming an ever more important partner state, and, as Mr Seppänen said, it is energy that is the crucial issue here. Why is that? Because it is in that area that our dependence on Russia is most clearly visible. This excellent idea and model for a Northern Dimension, underrated and afflicted by confusion as it has been, now needs a centre of focus, and that should be energy. If it is made a priority in the next action plan we can also act in the other areas: environment, culture, education and training, health, the transport situation, and the information society. In this way this whole great idea would gain extra momentum, and not least because the accession of Poland and the Baltic countries to the EU will create more pressure to improve the structure of this Northern Dimension. As Heidi Hautala said, a good example of this in the area of financing is the environmental programme fund. The money therefore exists; now it is a question of action.
I want to thank Denmark for having been so active in this area, and I shall put Greece on the same scales that we used to weigh Denmark’s efforts, with the praise that resulted."@en1
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