Brussels, 04/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Energy, trade, human rights and Syria - on all these subjects, the EU-Russian summit in Yekaterinburg highlights the fact that bilateral differences continue not only at political but also at trading level despite the obvious resolve to strengthen economic ties.
As usual, a new cooperation agreement, energy, trade, human rights and visas, as well as regional and international issues, North Africa, the Middle East and especially Syria were the focus of the 31st EU-Russia summit held in Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, on 3 and 4 June. As if to mask the fact that opinions differed on so many issues, such as the thorny Syrian issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his guests, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, spoke only of the economy at their press briefing.
Cooperation agreement - gathering the pace. After an informal dinner on Monday evening devoted to global economic issues, with specific emphasis on the G20 process under Russian Presidency and its next summit, early September in Saint Petersburg, a plenary session on Tuesday was devoted to bilateral issues, including talks for a new partnership and cooperation agreement, which aims to replace the 1994 agreement in order to govern political cooperation, sector-specific dialogue and trade relations and investment. Europeans and Russians, as Barroso pointed out, held a concrete discussion on ways to take forward the talks begun in 2008, which are still dragging on. Late March, Barroso had expressed the wish that the agreement might be signed and sealed by 2014.
Recycling tax on cars - Moscow to take action. There is nothing in particular to point out on the energy chapter where tumultuous relations, calmed by the signing in December of the roadmap on EU/Russia energy cooperation by 2050, are still being damaged by Russia's refusal to submit to the rules on the 3rd package for the liberalisation of the internal market on energy. On Tuesday, the question, which had given rise to a heated exchange between Putin and Barroso at the December summit, was not broached. On the other hand, with regard to the chapter on trade, the EU expressed impatience at Russia's failure to respect some of its commitments on liberalisation, and warned of its intention to launch a procedure at the WTO against Russia unless Moscow abolishes its discriminatory measures on car imports by 1 July. Such measures include Russia's decree on charging a recycling tax on imported cars. Barroso said “we have received good news on this subject”. He also spoke of the European grievances about Russian discriminatory measures regarding health and plant health. Putin, for his part, spoke of the Russian side's grievances regarding European antidumping measures.
Agreement on prevention of drug trafficking. The only concrete result of the summit was that Europeans and Russians signed, on Tuesday, a new cooperation agreement on the control of drug precursors. The agreement will strengthen cooperation between the EU and Russia for preventing drug precursors from being trafficked for the manufacture of illegal drugs. It will enable competent authorities to exchange more practical, technical and scientific information on these chemicals, and to ensure that they are only used for legitimate purposes.
Differences continue over human rights. Once more, European leaders pointed out to their Russian host the importance of civil society and NGOs and the important contribution they these make to strengthening democracy and especially the freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms, Van Rompuy said. Legislative frameworks should recognise and protect the area in which civil society works, the Council president said, adding that reference had been made to the important dialogue that is already being held, even if views do not always coincide. The only thing required by law on NGOs is that, if they receive funds from abroad, they must say they are foreign agents, but they have not been closed, Putin said.
The previous day, with reference to homosexual marriage, with Russia possibly about to adopt a law on homosexual propaganda, the head of the international affairs committee at the Duma, Alexei Puchkov, had said that the EU is getting a little carried away with the expansion of its claimed values, when “we are not giving it lessons on how it should manage morals and non-discrimination”.
An agreement on visas is close. Although the question of mobility has still not been resolved, an agreement is said to be near at hand. “We hope to soon sign a modernised agreement on the simplification of the visa regime”, Barroso said, specifying that “several technical details have still to be settled” (our translation throughout). (CG/EH/transl.jl)