Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-13-Speech-2-196"
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"en.20060613.26.2-196"2
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".
Mr President, honourable Members, I am grateful for this opportunity to report, on behalf of the Commission, President Barroso and my colleague Ms Ferrero-Waldner, on the EU-Russia Summit which took place in Sochi on 25 May. The summit took place one year after the adoption of the four roadmaps for the Common Spaces and thus provided a good opportunity to review the progress made since then.
In conclusion, the summit demonstrated the breadth and depth of our common policy agenda with Russia. As the EU-Russia strategic partnership develops, the need for EU coherence becomes all the more essential. The dialogue the Commission has with the European Parliament on Russia is therefore a very important element in this regard in enhancing coherence, coexistence and the effectiveness of EU policy vis-à-vis the Russian Federation.
The summit was the occasion for the signature of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements. The visa facilitation agreement will help encourage contacts between the peoples of the EU and Russia. The readmission agreement will help tackle illegal immigration, an issue of growing concern to both the EU and Russia.
At the summit, there was a very open, frank and substantive discussion with President Putin on energy. It was never our expectation that we would find complete agreement in Sochi, but the Summit did clarify our respective positions. That was extremely helpful as we prepare for the European Council discussions on the external aspects of EU energy policy on the basis of the joint paper by the Commission and the High Representative. The EU and Russia are and certainly will remain interdependent in the energy sector and there is a genuine opportunity to integrate EU and Russian energy markets in a mutually beneficial, reciprocal, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. In that regard, we look forward to continuing our dialogue with Russia both bilaterally and multilaterally at next month’s G8 Summit.
As for the future framework for EU-Russia relations, the Summit agreed that our aim should be to replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with a new, durable, comprehensive and legally-binding agreement which should be capable of promoting the further development of EU-Russia relations. The PCA would remain in place until a new agreement comes into force. The Commission is currently preparing draft negotiating directives to that effect. If the Council is in a position to adopt them by the next EU-Russia Summit, negotiations could begin by the end of this year. For both the EU and Russia, Russia’s WTO accession remains a key priority. This will lay the foundations for bringing EU-Russia trade and economic relations to a qualitatively new level in the context of the PCA successor agreement, taking into account the existing PCA objective of a free trade area.
In that context, let me report to Parliament that we are making good progress on agreeing a new framework document for the renovated Northern Dimension policy. The Commission is negotiating the text with Russia, Norway and Iceland. I am pleased to say that Russia shows every interest in confirming its joint ownership of the Northern Dimension policy. We hope to have an agreement in time for the senior officials’ meeting in Finland in September. We will keep Parliament informed and seek to ensure that the parliamentary dimension is included in the new policy.
International issues were discussed in depth at the summit. The dialogue which has developed with Russia over recent months, in particular on Iran and the Middle East, is a sound example of the EU and Russia working to put the concept of effective multilateralism into practice.
The EU also emphasised the need to work together with Russia on issues in our common neighbourhood. We remain firmly of the view that the resolution of the frozen conflicts and the development of democracy and market economy in the countries of the region represent the best route to ensuring a stable, peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood for both the EU and Russia.
A number of other sensitive issues were discussed in a constructive spirit at the summit. The EU stressed the importance of Russia ratifying the border agreement with Estonia and signing and ratifying the border agreement with Latvia. In that context, let me welcome the recent meeting between Prime Ministers Kalvitis and Fradkov and hope that this represents the start of an intensified bilateral dialogue.
The EU also raised its continuing concerns with regard to the situation in Chechnya, notably in the light of the most recent visit by the UN High Representative for Human Rights, Louise Arbour. The regular EU-Russia human rights consultations continue to provide a useful forum for addressing these issues."@en1
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