Brussels, 14/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - The EU is not yet ready to open negotiations with Russia on a new enhanced partnership agreement, despite the agreement in principle negotiated by the Slovenian Presidency in Vilnius on 11 May, which allowed Lithuania to remove its reservations (EUROPE 9659). The agreement in principle, negotiated by current Council President Dimitrej Rupel and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas along with their Polish and Swedish counterparts, provided for a more ambitious negotiating brief for the European Commission relating to: - energy talks with Moscow (Energy Charter, Druzhba oil pipeline); - criminal justice cooperation; - and Russian policy on the “frozen conflicts” in Georgia and Moldova. “On the basis of this agreement, we were prepared to approve the (Commission's) negotiating mandate”, which has to be passed unanimously by ministers, a senior Lithuanian diplomat told Europe. However, at the COREPER meeting on 13 May, the Slovenian Presidency - at the request of a number of member states - brought forward a compromise text which diverged on several points from the agreement reached in Vilnius. The Lithuanian Ambassador, apparently taken by surprise, was unable to endorse the new text which he immediately sent to Vilnius for consideration.
On Wednesday 14 May, Ambassador Vaitiekunas said at a press conference that Lithuania would not accept any modification of the Vilnius agreement. “We cannot abandon basic principles, that are fundamental to Lithuania's interests,” he said. It would appear that several countries (including, in particular, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy and Germany) were unhappy with the paragraph in the agreement on the frozen conflicts in Georgia and Moldova, and the Slovenian Presidency took account of their concerns in its new text. The Lithuanian foreign minister give no further information on the exact nature of the differences but said he thought that “member states are not all in the same geographical and geopolitical position”. “The United Kingdom, Spain and France have their own interests, and we are defending the interests pertaining to our situation,” he stated. He also felt that the EU still had “a long road to travel before it could reflect common interests and speak with one voice”. A senior Lithuanian diplomat said that his country would “staunchly” defend the Vilnius agreement, while expressing his “optimism” that an agreement would be reached in the COREPER meeting next week. Were this to be the case, the General Affairs Council of 26 May would adopt the mandate and negotiations could begin at the EU-Russia summit in Siberia on 26-27 June. (H.B.)