Brussels, 30/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 29 May, Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said that he hoped that the Southstream gas pipeline project would be considered as a priority among the trans-European energy networks (TEN-E) and that it would enjoy similar treatment as the other energy transport infrastructure supported by the EU. Whereas Northstream has been given TEN-E status, “Southstream has requested the status, but has not yet been given it”, he said, hoping that this will change. Energy issues within relations between the EU and Russia, in which matter the “efforts and problems are the same”, will be discussed at the bilateral summit to be held in St Petersburg on 3-4 June. “There is great potential for cooperation in the field of energy”, Chizhov added.
The global economic and financial situation, and that of the eurozone, is also on the agenda of this 29th EU-Russia summit, which will be attended, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, Commission President José Manuel Barroso, High Representative Catherine Ashton and Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger.
Over lunch, European and Russian leaders will discuss international issues, such as the peace process in the Middle East. “The EU and Russia represent half of the Quartet, the more active half”, said Chizhov. They will also discuss the Iranian nuclear programme and the situation in Syria, to decide on the future of international cooperation, in other words “bringing pressure to bear on both sides”, the Russian ambassador explained.
The political and economic partnership between the EU and Russia will be the summit's pièce de résistance - a partnership which is “not simply useful, but vital for Russia and the EU”, given that the “relative complementarity” of their economies will help “not merely to survive the current challenges, but to overcome them and to prosper in the future”, Chizhov said. Russian and European leaders will discuss progress made in the roadmaps in four areas of common interest: economy, liberty security and justice, external security, and research and education. The EU and Russia will also discuss the partnership on modernisation to develop economic and social reforms in full respect of democracy and the rule of law and on a new basic EU-Russia agreement, to replace the partnership and cooperation agreement, on which little progress has been made. Progress over the question of visas, moving towards a visa-free regime, will also be discussed. Lastly, the EU and Russia will discuss the Eurasian integration which Moscow wishes to set in place with other former USSR republics, moving towards the creation of a Eurasian Union on the basis of the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs union and the Eurasian Economic Community. “My president wishes to explain the essence, driving forces and vectors of this integration process”, the Russian ambassador concluded. (CG/transl.fl)