Interfax's Interview

European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner in an interview with Interfax has expressed the EU’s view in problems in Russia’s interaction with her organization and the West in general.

  Power engineering is a sector in which the mutual dependence of the European Union and Russia is obvious, Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
  She said the EU continues to believe that the energy charter is offering a good framework for multilateral cooperation and investment in energy. The energy dialogue will continue and become part of the new agreement, she said. At the previous summit President Vladimir Putin gave assurances that he respects the key principles of the Energy Charter, she said. The EU expects to see that in the new basic agreement and would want to agree on a mechanism of early warning and consultations to guarantee prompt information exchanges about the risk of interruptions in deliveries, she said.
  Ferrero-Waldner said the EU supports Russia's admission to the WTO because that meets the interests of both sides. A diversified economy, investment attractiveness and growing trade can be guaranteed only on the basis of full integration in the world system, she said. WTO membership may become a locomotive for domestic reform and a foundation for closer economic ties between Russia and the EU, she said.
  In the official's opinion, all WTO members should give a green light to Russia's admission. She said the sides continue working to settle bilateral problems related to Russia's accession to the WTO. Problems exist but none of them is such that it could not be settled given Russia's political will, she said.
  Asked whether Ukraine and Georgia have European prospects Ferrero-Waldner said that both Ukraine and Georgia belong to the sphere of the European neighborhood policy. The program is based on mutual commitments and common values - democracy, human rights, the supremacy of law, good governance, the principles of a market economy and sustained development, she said. It is deeper than the current relationship but does not imply admission to the EU, she said.

 Speaking of the upcoming EU-Russia summit in Samara on May 18 Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she does not expect any agreements.
  There are no plans to sign any agreements, she said.
  Official negotiations on such a document will begin as soon as the EU receives a mandate from all of its member states, she added.
  The European Commission is actively working with the German presidency in the EU and member-states to surmount the remaining obstacles, she said.
  Both Russia and the EU are interested in a new agreement that would replace the 1994 partnership and cooperation agreement because the relations have reached a certain stage of development over the past decade, Ferrero-Waldner said.
 The new agreement would lift them to a new level and help utilize their potential, she said.
  But there is no need to hurry as the current agreement remains in force, the roadmaps of the four common spaces guarantee sufficient amount of work for the immediate future and on the medium term, she said. There will be no legal vacuum, she added.
  Asked about the current state of EU-Russia relations as a whole Ferrero-Waldner said that Russia’s relations with the West in general and the EU in particular are going through a difficult period and there are many items on the agenda they see differently, she said.
  In this situation it is important that the sides would keep long-term interests in mind. Europe and Russia are not only neighbors with a common history, but they also depend on each other in a number of spheres, the European Commissioner said. The sides should conduct a constructive dialogue, advocate their interests and values and simultaneously seek agreement, she said.
  She noted that the summit is expected to discuss the state of work on the new partnership and cooperation agreement, to fill with contents four common fields of partnership, primarily energy and climate change, Russia’s accession to WTO, the enforcement of agreements simplifying visa regulations and readmission, science and education, international problems.

 Speaking of the problems in Russian-Estonian relations Ferrero-Waldner said the European Union realizes that the relocation of the memorial to Soviet soldiers in Tallinn is a very difficult and sensitive matter for both Estonia and Russia.
  It is a question of interpreting a complex period in history, she said. However, Estonia lived up to its commitments under the Geneva convention on military graves. The EU urged both sides to settle the problem through a calm dialogue, without unnecessary emotions, in the spirit of understanding and mutual respect, Ferrero-Waldner said. The European Commission expressed concern over the escalation of violence in Estonia and demonstrations outside of the Estonian embassy in Moscow and called on the Russian authorities to abide by its commitments under the Geneva convention on diplomatic relations. The upcoming summit will offer a chance to discuss these events with Russian partners, she said.
 Ferrero-Waldner said that several problems undoubtedly influence EU-Russia relations and for this very reason they are discussed at the EU level in an attempt to reach agreement. The EU cannot underestimate the importance of common interests for constructive interaction - power engineering, global climate change, human contacts, including student exchanges, cooperation in science and education, the energy dialogue and satellite navigation.
 Despite the difficult period in their relations the EU and Russia remain strategic partners that can remove differences.

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