Secure gas flow to dominate at Russia-EU summit
Published: 18 November, 2009, 11:41
Edited: 23 November, 2009, 20:28
TAGS: Meeting, EU, Russia, Politics, Europe, Russia and the global economy, Gas
Top political guns are in Stockholm in Sweden as the Russia-EU summit kicks off. Energy supplies security, trade cooperation and future dialogue between Moscow and the EU are on the agenda.
At the opening speech, Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev expressed hope the discussions at the summit, the last of its kind before the sweeping reforms in the European Union come into force, will be frank and open.
He reminded the summit members that in a month’s time it will be 20 years since the agreement between then-USSR and then-European Economic Community was signed and said the relations has improved greatly over this period.
“We are the greatest partners on the European territory. It doesn’t mean that our relations are smooth, but the main thing is we communicate regularly and those problems that sometimes occur, we negotiate in a friendly mood during meetings alike,” President Medvedev said.
Strained relations between Russia and Sweden, which is currently holding the rotating EU presidency, have caused a stir in relations with the whole Union, and it has not even been clear if this summit would be held at all.
After the South Ossetian war in August 2008, it was Sweden who first suggested implementing sanctions against Russia and was openly demonstrating an anti-Russian stance. It also took Sweden a long time to approve the Nord Stream pipeline, which Russia is going to lay thorough its economic zone.The decision improved relations, which reached an all-time low level last December, Claes Lofgren, chief correspondent with the Swedish TV network SVT told RT.
“Although there are a lot of worries in Sweden over the current situation in Russia and that has to do with the lack of democracy, as we see it,” Claes Lofgren said. “Generally speaking we would like to cooperate with Russia. We would like to have a secure, democratic Russia and changes in political system are of course causing some worries within the Swedish public.”
The meeting is particularly important, as it will be the last time within this framework that a single national government can greatly influence relations between Russia and the whole of Europe and take it to a new level.
Moscow has long complained that the lack of consistency and predictability affects greatly the relations with Europe. Every six months when the presidency rotated to a new country, the Kremlin has had to discuss the same issues with new people over and over again. And when the problem has been in the hands of a country not particularly friendly towards Russia, the entire dialogue has been put on hold.
The Lisbon treaty, due to take effect on December 1, 2009, holds hopes for a change to this situation and stability in relations between Russia and the European Union. However, Aleksandr Strelkov from the European Integration Department of the Institute of Europe says that even when the treaty comes into force, a prejudged approach might remain.
“The member states will retain a large amount of control over EU foreign policy, so states like Poland might be tempted again to express their illegitimate fears of Russian influence. So basically the Lisbon treaty will change the context of EU-Russia relations, but not the agenda,” he told RT.
Energy supplies to Europe are expected to be the top issue on the agenda of the summit. Europe wants assurances of secured gas flow from Russia after last year’s row between Moscow and Kiev left millions of Europeans in the cold. A new security system is to be proposed.
Sweden is also expected to press Moscow on human rights issues in the north Caucasus. Issues of climate change and global economy are also expected to be on the table.
Ahead of the summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held bilateral talks with Swedish Prime Minister Frederick Reinfeldt. The meeting, however, wasn’t as fruitful as President Medvdev expected it to be.
“We have prepared several memoranda which we could have signed in Stockholm, but for some unknown reasons decided not to. Apparently so our colleagues could meet up again and sign these documents either in Moscow or in Stockholm,” President Medvedev said, speaking at a joint press-conference after the talks.
Medvedev has also thanked the Swedish authorities for allowing the Nord Stream pipeline to be stretched across its economic zone.
18.11.2009, 11:28
5 comments
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To Bianca Thanks for your post. It's interesting to see different other point of view. Let me shortly refer to your statements: "Polish government has been rather unfriendly to German economic interests" - let's turn this arround - had been the German government friendly to Polish or Baltic states's economic interests? NS seems to omit those countries enabling Russia to threaten them in future that the gas supply to them will be stopped if they don't pay more or do other concession to Russia. But Germans are only interested in their not European energetic security and do not take into account great political and economic risk of the NS for other EU members. - "As for human rights in the Baltics..." - So far I can see things in different light - Russia is still meddling and interfering it this region. Of course I know something about the situation of Russian colonists and their families in former Pribaltica but on the other side they do not seem to be very loyal citizens to their present country (e.g. Estonia). But I would appreciate more info from you on the subject - "to elevate the Western civilization…" I did not intend to elevate this civilization. I only wanted to describe the integrity in Russian/soviet policy. It has not changed since centuries. It is the historians who invented that comparison of Russian policy conducted over centuries with the Policy of Asian rulers like Chingis Khan. My country experienced that – domination/seizure + exploitation. Rgds
Chris, I am not sure where you get your information from, but you seem to be well off the mark. For one, the Nord Stream project is of immense value to the Europe's largest economy, Germany. Germany is still an industrial state, as it did not replace its industry by services and banking economy as we did in US and Britain. This is a country that needs the energy, as its export business is still going strong. The existing options were not viable, as each posed the political risk. Polish government has been rather unfriendly to German economic interests, to put it mildly. It is not rational, therefore, that expanding that network would have been productive for Germany. Also, Denmark is also partnering as its own supplies are running down in few years' time. As for human rights in the Baltics, you can get some education on your own. If you are not familiar with the issues, I am afraid nobody can help you. You need to discover it on your own. Your last paragraph betrays unfortunately your biases. "The World" as you put it, is not trying to do anything to "educate" Russia. Each country has its own problems, and need to clean up its own yard first. But to elevate the Western civilization in the manner you are doing, is to ignore its dark, dark pages. Russia is yet to recover from the demographic disaster that the 26 million plus war dead in WWII created. And all that, due to made in the West ideology and technology. And we can go back to the devastation of WWI, and the shameless colonial mass murders, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and the tens of millions dead there. And the human rights abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention how the whole volumes of international law have been trashed in the process. The "world" is aware of that. No point lecturing. But, shame on you, Russia is both European and Asian country. You seem to think that being Asian is something "lower". Apparently not when borrowing their money.
Most commentators do not seem to realize that the gas is russian. Russia can do whatever she want with it. Guess what it will be if the situation was unversed. Look, already all the dirty tricks played by certain states governed by Wall-Street to antagonize Russia until her natural ressources are taken over by foreigners. I shall repeat myself from a previous comment: If I do not pay my gas or electricity bill, I get cut off. When renting an appartment or buying a car or a house in a western country, you must have waranties. For te appartment: three months cautions, which mean three months' rent. For the car a co-signer is required. Since Ukraine influenced by the USA and other NATO countries is a bad payer, Russia could ask for warranties: Three billions set on a bank's account and the co-signing of her from Europe and America. Othewise Russia can perfectly well sell her gas to honnest custumers, other than those troubles' makers. This is not provocations, just a simple and honnest business deal. Just think what will happen if Russia was the custumer and not the seller. Sincerely...Jean-Claude Meslin