Brussels, 17/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - There is strong backing from Member States for the priorities of the Finnish Presidency on external relations, particularly for strengthening relations with Russia (with strong emphasis on energy cooperation) and defining a future enlargement strategy. At a brief public debate at the start of the “General Affairs/External Relations” Council on Monday, the Council Chairman Erkki Tuomioja heard only positive and encouraging statements about his priorities: strengthening EU external action, relations with Moscow, the northern dimension, enlargement, neighbourhood policy, transatlantic relations security and European defence, Africa and the Western Balkans. With regard to Russia, Mr Tuomioja confirmed that the Presidency's aim was to launch negotiations on a new agreement (to succeed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which expires in the autumn of 2007) at the EU-Russia Summit in Helsinki in November. As the EU's main energy supplier, Russia will also be one of the key topics at the informal European summit in Lahti on 20 October, to which President Putin has been invited. Russia will also be a main player in the EU's northern dimension, to which the Finnish Presidency wants to give new impetus. The main topic of the European Council in Brussels on 14-15 December will be enlargement: heads of state and government will discuss the “quality” of the enlargement process and will try to reach agreement on a strategy which takes account of the EU's absorption capacity without adding new criteria or accession conditions, said Mr Tuomioja. Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner welcomed the emphasis placed by the Finns on Council transparency. “It is the only way to bring the Union closer to citizens,” she said, welcoming also the fact that innovation will be the “watchword” at the Lahti Summit (for which the Commission will prepare a special contribution). Estonian minister Urmas Paet hailed the Presidency's decision to make the energy/Russia duo a priority. Sharing this opinion, Greek minister Theodora Bakoyannis called for energy to be a central point of the future EU-Russia agreement. Ursula Plassnik, the Austrian minister, said she was expecting much of the debate on enlargement. “So far we have always focussed on the state of preparedness of candidates, with the Union's absorption capacity not being taken sufficiently into account,” she said. Polish minister Anna Fotyga put things into perspective: EU absorption capacity was important, but putting it at the centre of the future enlargement strategy could hide the merits of the process, create tensions within the EU and incomprehension among candidate countries. For Greece, it was of prime importance that the commitments to Western Balkan countries be retained and respected, stressed Ms Bakoyannis. Turkey, she said, had to implement the agreements reached with the EU (a reference to the additional protocol to the Ankara Agreement), just as the EU had to abide by its commitments to Turkey. Romanian minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu promised that his country would be ready to join the EU on 1st January: he said the Commission report (expected by the end of September, according to Ms Ferrero-Waldner: ED.) “will show this”.