Brussels, 30/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the European Union and Russia reiterated their willingness to establish dialogue to examine the conditions for mutual visa-free travel at some point in the future. "The parties confirmed a common will to establish the framework for the dialogue aimed at examining the conditions for mutual visa-free travel between the EU and Russia as a long-term perspective", reads a joint press release which was adopted at the end of the fifth meeting of the EU/Russia Permanent Partnership Council in the field of Justice and Home Affairs, which was held in Helsinki on Sunday 29 and Monday 30 October. Simply getting rid of these obligations- a request from the Russian side- would be the conclusion of a process started by both parties in May 2006, with the signature of an agreement to facilitate visa-issuing procedures and a readmission agreement for illegal immigrants. Both of these agreements are set to enter into force in early 2007, once the European Parliament has given its opinion (as it will in December), stressed Commissioner Franco Frattini at a press conference, after the Helsinki meeting. "For European and Russian citizens alike, the application of this agreement on these as will constitute a highly tangible and concrete result" of the excellent cooperation between the EU and Russia, said the Commissioner.
The meeting of the Permanent Partnership Council- which was attended, on the Russian side, by the adviser to President Putin, Viktor Ivanov, and the country's Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, Vladimir Ustinov and Rashid Norgaliyev- dealt with a multitude of subjects, particularly bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and drugs trafficking, illegal immigration, border management and trafficking in human beings. On the fight against terrorism, Commissioner Frattini told the press that he welcomed the fact that the EU and Russia had agreed to continue discussions on "practical measures for cooperation, the prevention of and fight against terrorism, including the funding of terrorism and the recruitment of terrorists". This cooperation will also include a discussion at a high political level between Brussels and Moscow to seek to agree on a joint definition of the concept of terrorism, Mr Frattini explained. He also welcomed the intentions of the Finnish Presidency to convene a meeting of European, Russian and American experts to discuss these subjects, before the end of the year.
The Finnish Home Affairs Minister, Kari Rajamäki, laid particular emphasis on the need to improve the exchange of information between the EU and Russia on the contents of certain Internet sites and terrorists' encrypted communications. However, the fight against terror must be conducted according to international democratic standards and regulations, he stressed.
On the fight against drugs trafficking, the EU and Russia share concerns about the situation in Afghanistan, which remains the principal source of drugs for the European market. At this moment in time, some 150,000 hectares of opium are grown in Afghanistan, Viktor Ivanov told the press. We need to step up our cooperation with Russia to face up to the "heroin tsunami" from Afghanistan which is submerging Europe, said the Finnish Home Affairs Minister, Kari Rajamäki, who proposes that "a kind of security belt" be set in place around the country to stop the drugs from leaving Afghan territory.
On the fight against and prevention of corruption in Russia, both sides agreed to hold joint training events for officials. Russia has already adopted the UN Convention against Corruption and the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of the Council of Europe, but the EU also encouraged Russia to approve the corresponding convention applying to civil law, the Finnish Justice Minister, Leena Luhtanen, told the press. Moscow should also sign up to The Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, she added.
Cooperation between Russia and Eurojust was also mentioned and both sides expressed their hopes that a cooperation agreement could be concluded in the very near future. The EU and Russia also discussed the possibility of concluding an agreement on judicial cooperation in civil matters. Both sides also welcomed progress made in the implementation of the roadmap for the creation of an EU/Russia common space in the field of liberty, security and justice.
The murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was also brought up by the Finnish Presidency. Mr Ivanov assured his audience that the judicial authorities were doing all in their power, "in cooperation with the public and the media", to find those responsible for the crime and bring them to justice. (hb)