Strasbourg, 20/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - Despite great efforts, the Federation of Russia was unable to bring negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Council of Europe and the European Union to a successful conclusion. As Russia was about to leave the half-yearly presidency of the pan-European organisation, it stated:
“The Russian Chair has been making considerable efforts since May to move forward the negotiations on the draft Memorandum of Understanding which is to provide the framework for closer co-operation between the two organisations. The Chair has been aiming at having the Memorandum as a result of collective creative work, with account taken of the positions of all interested parties, including the ideas put forward by the Parliamentary Assembly. We are grateful to our partners for their valuable contributions to the document. However, the drafting work has uncovered serious political and legal problems that can only be solved through compromise. It has not been possible so far to agree on the aims and principles of the inter-institutional co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Union. Issues related to legal co-operation, the preservation of the coherence of the European human rights protection system as well as the role of the Council of Europe vis-à-vis the policies elaborated by the EU, including the European Neighbourhood Policy, are still under discussion. The Russian Federation is ready to seek compromise solutions. We hope that EU member states will also show understanding and readiness to take the existing concerns into consideration. Further work on the Memorandum needs to take account of the ideas and recommendations contained in Mr Juncker's report, in particular those related to the shaping of a pan-European legal space and to the principles and mechanisms of collaboration between the Council of Europe and the European Union. The Russian Chair has been consistently in favour of the earliest implementation of the decision taken at the 116th Session of the Committee of Ministers, to establish a high-level group to consider the report and the recommendations contained therein. We hope that the Group's terms of reference will be adopted shortly”. The Republic of Saint Marin, which succeeded the Russian Federation at the head of the Forty-Six on 15 November has promised to do its utmost to finalise the MoU. (oj)