A cooperation that exists. Cooperation between the EU and Russia exists and must be relaunched.
Here's a meaningful example. On the sidelines of the meeting in Vienna last week between the Russian president and the chancellor of Austria, the Austrian oil company OMV and the Russian oil company Gazprom signed an agreement on participation in the consortium for the construction of the Austrian section of the South Stream gas pipeline which will transport 30-32 billion cubic metres of gas to the EU each year (see EUROPE 11107). This is a bold project. Led by Gazprom with the participation of ENI (Italy) and EDF (France), it will link Russia to Bulgaria (passing under the Black Sea) and will comprise two branches - one towards Italy, the other towards Austria, Croatia and Slovenia, passing through Serbia and Hungary. It is true that the European Commission has asked for the work to be suspended, believing that certain EU rules have not been respected, but the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, is not concerned. He speaks on the phone to European Commissioner for Energy Gunter Oettinger each week without making any dramas about it because “big projects always have some problem or other”.
Another example? The European Commission last week stated that Russia is the second largest importer of agricultural and agro-food products from the EU - and the large volume of trade in general between Moscow and several EU countries (with Germany in the lead) is well-known. Do I need to reiterate that the EU-Russia relations even cover the military area - with the two French mistral ships ordered by Putin?
The dialogue is making progress. Of course, this real and tangible cooperation between the EU and Russia does not remove their differences of opinion - but it encourages discussion and the search for compromise.
The Belgian minister for foreign affairs, Didier Reynders, has asked Putin for clearer signs and action to prove his resolve for calm. The efforts must be reciprocal because, for the EU, “Russia must become a partner again”. Oettinger has expressed his intention to meet the Russian energy minister and the directors of Gazprom, with a view to relaunching the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on the supply of Russian gas, adding that he “still hopes to find a solution in July”. Both Gazprom (with regard to the considerable debt that Ukraine has built up on the Russian gas it buys) and the Ukrainian authorities (with regard to the new prices demanded by Gazprom) have appealed to the international court of arbitration in Stockholm. However, it's common knowledge that the verdicts of this noble body require several years! It is obvious that the two parties want to buy time - with the aim of reaching an overall compromise in the meantime.
The role of rhetoric. Before subscribing to the association and free-trade agreement with Ukraine, the EU had invited Russia to discuss this agreement at political level. The result was predictable. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, this agreement will split Ukraine into two. According to the Ukrainian president, the result of the agreement is that “for the first time, Ukraine's right to become a member of the EU has been recognised”.
These two assertions are false. They are just empty rhetoric - and all the more so because Ukraine needs the Russian market because this is where Urkaine sells most of its exports!
When the USA advocates firmness with regard to Russia, it does so without risk - because US exports to Moscow are scarcely a tenth of the EU's. The verbal severity is all the more easy for Washington as, in the areas of high technology, Russian-US cooperation is very significant and therefore untouchable. It is simply not spoken about - that's it.
The rhetoric also exists in other areas. The Russian Parliament (the Duma) has removed the possibility for Vladimir Putin to intervene in Ukraine militarily without prior authorisation from the Duma. In Europe this news is welcomed but for US Secretary of State John Kerry, the power taken from Putin can be re-established in ten minutes. For Kerry, it therefore has no value. In my view, it's much more important for Russia to take part (with the US, Germany, France, the UK and China) in the group that monitors Iran's nuclear programme. This will meet again on 2 July in Brussels. Russia will be there.
I have not mentioned one rather significant aspect - the cost of Ukraine's ups and downs at a time when - among the well-known difficulties - the EU is working on a policy for controlling and cutting down its spending. I will return to this.
(FR)