Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-10-25-Speech-4-558-000"
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"en.20121025.35.4-558-000"2
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"Madam President, if I were to summarise this debate, I would say that it was quite clear that we all warmly welcome the accession of Russia to the WTO. We had – and we still have – positive expectations as to how this membership will be beneficial to our mutual relationship. But we also have to record a certain disappointment with the application of WTO rules in Russia. I also noted a very clear call from the honourable Members of this Parliament to the Commission to look for constructive solutions and to make sure that Russia respects WTO rules.
To close, I would like to thank honourable Members for a very good debate. I appreciate the support for the overall thrust of the Commission’s policy towards Russia. Together with many honourable Members, I would like to express the hope that, through constructive dialogue with our Russian partners, we will be able to achieve greater compliance with WTO rules. This would clearly be to the benefit of trade and the overall relationship between the European Union and Russia.
It is very important in the negotiations with our Russian partners to highlight the positive benefits that the WTO agreement brings to both sides. In my introductory remarks I referred to the expected EUR 2.5 billion in savings for European exporters to Russia thanks to the decrease of import duties. I can also say that EUR 3.9 billion of additional EU exports is expected per year. In terms of the benefits this will bring to the Russian side, I would claim that they will be of a similar order.
This is clearly a win-win solution, and it could be a real success story for both Russia and the European Union if the rules are respected and correctly applied. This was mentioned by several speakers, including Mrs Koch-Mehrin, Mr Scholz and Mrs Oomen-Ruijten.
In reply to Mrs Andersdotter, I would like to underline the fact that Russia needs to apply the WTO rules regarding TRIPS - intellectual property rights - from the date of accession. The Commission is, of course, obliged to monitor how compliance with these rules is ensured by the Russian authorities.
There was a discussion, and several comments, concerning the new agreement. It is supposed to be a wide agreement covering all areas of the very far-ranging relationship between the European Union and Russia. I believe that if we succeed in negotiating and agreeing the new agreement, it will help us tackle the problems which were raised by Mrs Vaidere, especially veterinary restrictions, procurement and breach of intellectual property rights. So we think that it is very important to negotiate and to work on this new agreement. What would be the most useful in this respect would be to pursue our bilateral path.
We believe that a positive outcome of the negotiations on the new agreement would be helpful – and indeed crucial – for Russia, because respect for WTO rules, a good agreement, and compliance with this agreement on both the Russian and European sides are key to the integration of Russia into the global rules-based system, which I believe would benefit both sides.
Several questions were raised about what we would like to see in the new agreement. It is quite clear that we regard it as important, in addition to the usual traditional components of such an agreement, to have very clear and solid articles on trade, investment and energy provisions, because without those key components we would not be able to conclude the agreement. We want to have an all-encompassing document which will provide a real framework for our bilateral relations.
In all the remarks, it was quite clear that honourable Members feel a certain disappointment about the way in which the WTO rules are respected by Russia. There have been clear calls for the Commission to act and look for ways to remedy the current problems and the current situation. I would like to repeat what I said at the beginning: we will start by trying to find agreed solutions to this problem, but, failing that, we will not hesitate to enforce our rights under the WTO when they are violated. These are our rights. We have a system whereby the WTO sets the rules for all the Members and, if the rules are breached, the remedy should be sought and applied. It is quite clear that this is something that the European Union will have to do if these infringements of the rules persist.
In reply to Mr Mirsky, who commented on the situation and the restrictions on border crossing, I would just like to assure him that the Commission is aware of the situation and that this problem will be raised in discussions with our Russian partners. Regarding the last comment, on the situation in Georgia, which was raised by Mr Lisek, I would just like to underline that Georgia is also a member of the WTO and can use the WTO system to raise this issue and to address the ban with the World Trade Organisation, but, as far as we know, so far it has chosen not to."@en1
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