Brussels, 20/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - No information has filtered down regarding the brief visit to the European Commission in Brussels, on Monday 19 September, by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov to discuss with Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht about Russia's accession to the WTO. Both men have refused to comment. Shuvalov simply told the Russian press that it was “too early”. De Gucht made a similar comment.
Three months from the 8th WTO ministerial conference, mid-December in Geneva, which could officialise entry to the multilateral organisation by the last major economic power still not a member, there is nothing to be optimistic about - whether WTO Director Pascal Lamy likes it or not. On 17 September, Lamy had said there was a “serious” possibility of Russia joining by end 2011.
Talks at the WTO gathered pace this summer, spurred on by bilateral agreements on market access concluded at the end of 2010 at the WTO between Russia, on one hand, and the United States and the EU, on the other. This did not, however, allow major issues to be resolved, issues that have still to be settled both multilaterally and bilaterally. Even Moscow appears perplexed. Elvira Nabioullina, who is Russia's minister for the economy, cited by the Interfax agency, said on Friday that the likelihood of concluding talks by the end of the year, as foreseen, was very slim, but that it could still happen. She went on to add: “For now, there is still a chance but a chance that grows slimmer by the day”, with the risk that talks will extend for quite some time after 2011.
In addition to the stumbling block of Georgia, with which Moscow must reach agreement, with the help of Swiss mediation, on the implementation of common customs structures in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two major issues remain outstanding: - on one hand, Russian sanitary and phytosanitary measures, often underlined to block imports of farm products and goods, and, on the other, Russia's investment regime in the automotive sector. In order to protect its promising automotive market, Moscow has set measures in place such as the reduction of import taxes on spare parts, in order to impel the major global groups to manufacture on the spot in partnership with Russian firms, in exchange for the development of production sites in Russia and the use of parts manufactured locally.
Moscow, for its part, is categorical. Russian accession to the WTO will again be postponed if the dispute over automobile assembly is not settled as soon as possible, Russia's negotiator in Geneva, Maxime Medvedkov, confirmed at the end of last week. And yet, he warned, “it is quite obvious that our position in talks remains unchanged. We are not sacrificing quality for speed of membership. We are not giving up the general line and the conditions subject to which we enter the WTO are very important to us”. He specified that the question of meat quotas was inevitably linked to settlement of this issue. “Our partners are aware as, at the WTO, there is no agreement on anything until there is agreement on everything. We have prepared the agreements on meat, but these will not take effect until we have agreements that are acceptable to Russia”, Medvedkov explained, cited by the Itar-Tass agency.
The ambassador for Iceland, Stefan Johannesson, who heads the WTO working group on Russian accession, believes the conclusion of talks with Moscow, which began in 1993, is technically possible this year, as the plan of completing accession by December, after it was approved in July, is being more or less accomplished. However, for this, the 153 member nations should adopt the final package of agreements with Russia end November at the very latest. The final meeting of the working group on 10-11 November will be crucial. (EH/transl.jl)