Brussels, 21/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - Energy, trade, visas, human rights - no big issues were agreed upon at the EU-Russia Summit in Brussels on 21 December.
“I'm not in love.” The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, smiled at the end of a press conference after the EU-Russia summit as he said that his “old friend Barroso” had got very emotional because he felt he was wrong. The summit had been the scene of intense but friendly debate on issues like access to the EDU energy market for Russian gas giant Gazprom, half of which is owned by the Russian state.
At the last EU summit for 2012, sparks were flying given the distance between EU views and Russian ideas on the issues at stake. The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the head of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, made their views crystal clear to Putin, but he refused to budge, despite giving Barroso a friendly hug!
Refusing to budge on energy and trade. Putin said that trade relations between Russia and the EU, particularly Russia's cheap oil and gas for Europe, show how closely integrated the two sides are with the common aim of diversification. He called on Friday for the EU to exempt Russia from the third package of EU legislation on the energy market for Gazprom's planned gas pipelines to Europe for a reliable energy supply, namely the North Stream pipeline in the Baltic and the South Stream pipeline under the Black Sea. Putin slammed the EU's rules as amounting to confiscating Russian investment, saying that the third EU package of rules had been discussed but Russia says it is not acceptable for the rules to apply to long-term contracts. Putin wanted mutually acceptable solutions to be found. Barroso said the EU system is not discriminatory and is therefore fully compatible with the overarching trade deal between the EU and Russia. Barroso insisted that it allowed greater liberalisation, which would actually increase the opportunities for Russian companies rather than restricting them. The disagreements between Brussels and Moscow flared up in September, when the Commission launched an investigation into suspected Gazprom price manipulation and anti-competitive practices in a number of central and east European countries.
On Friday, Brussels pointed out a range of restrictive trade practices in Russia that counteract the Russia's commitments made upon joining the World Trade Organisation, including the directive on recycling costs for car imports, a ban on the import of live animals from the EU, Russia's decision to raise customs duty on various imports and high processing costs for wood exports at lower duty than agreed in an EU-Russia deal before the country joined the WTO. In response, Russia attacked what is feels are discriminatory EU rules for the energy market, anti-dumping measures and EU restrictions on chemical imports.
Persistant disagreements on visas, human rights and Syria. Both the Russian president and the EU leaders agreed that although a little progress had been made on a new partnership and cooperation agreement (to replace the 1997 agreement) and a partnership for updating the Russian economy, this did not hide political disagreements on visas and human rights.
The EU and Russia have not been able to solve the visa conundrum for which Moscow wants progress on a visa system for all (which some EU member states still oppose and are even threatening to reintroduce visas for transport workers if agreement is not reached soon). Putin said that Russian tourists spend more than €18 billion in shops in the EU each year and the continuation of the visa system is hampering expansion of trade, but it is simply a matter of lack of political will in Europe, because the ball is in its court. Putin says the EU is well aware of the efforts by Russia on readmission and protection of its borders, but Barroso still wants a gradual approach to visa-free travel.
On human rights, although Van Rompuy pointed out the importance of civil society in Russia, Putin expressed concern about violations of the rights of Russian-speakers in a number of EU member states.
Finally, on foreign policy, Putin said he was prepared to consider deeper cooperation, but the two sides still disagree over Syria. The EU and Russia agree, however, on the need for an end to the fighting and support for the work of Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. (EH/CG/transl.fl)