Brussels, 07/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU Ministerial Troika - formed of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs from Sweden, and President of the EU Council, Anna Lindh and for Belgium Louis Michel, as well as the High Representative Javier Solana and the European Commissioner Chris Patten - will meet on Friday in Stockholm with the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Igor Ivanov. Among the main points on the agenda are the prospects for the development of bilateral relations (the stated objective for both sides is to launch a strategic partnership between the EU and Russia), trade issues, the plan for enhanced energy cooperation in the field of natural gas and oil, economic reforms underway in Russia, the political situation in the Balkans, the Caucuses and the Middle East, the future Russian association to the European Security and Defence Policy, etc.
Let us recall that President Putin will meet the EU 15 and the Commission on 23 March in Stockholm before the opening of the works by the European Council (he will have an exchange of views with them in the morning and will then take part in a working lunch). The Russian President should, on this occasion, mainly discuss with the EU Heads of State and Government economic issues, and the Swedish Presidency of the Union Council has the intention of also presenting the problem of Russian accession to the WTO. Moscow gives the impression of not fully understanding the importance of such a development, and for this reason the Swedish Presidency is organising, during the month of March, a conference in Moscow to which will also take part the European Commissioner Pascal Lamy, indicated a source from the Presidency. The Swedish Presidency intends to also draw attention to nuclear safety, and another problem that could be raised is that of possible EIB interventions in Russia: the present rules do not allow for such interventions, but they could be authorised under certain conditions in the border areas with the EU, in the Northeast of the country. Mr Putin will also be prepared to discuss, in Stockholm, issues of security and notably peace keeping (the Balkans are an example of cooperation in this field between Moscow and the West).
After the Stockholm summit, a special meeting of the EU's "Nordic dimension", which will take place in April, will allow to broach in particular the problems of environmental protection, notably in Saint Petersberg, which is responsible for most of the pollution in the Baltic Sea.
Then, the half yearly EU/Russia summit will unfold in Moscow, on 17 May.