| Author (Person) | Davies, Eric | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 15.3.04 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 15/03/2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Following recent concerns about the European Union's deteriorating relations with the Russian Federation, the European Commission has published a Communication on EU-Russia relations. The Commission identifies the problem areas and calls for the Union to adopt “a more coherent and more consistent approach to relations with Russia ... founded on the implementation of the common values underlying the bilateral partnership.” Providing that agreement can be reached on renewing the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA), which is currently the main issue dividing the two, the Commission wants to see an Action Plan with Russia agreed in time for the forthcoming Summit between the two, in May this year. Released prior to the meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 23 February, the Communication formed the basis for Ministers' discussions on EU-Russia relations. Background 'We, the leaders of the European Union and the Russian Federation, held intensive and productive discussions in Rome on 6 November 2003. We agreed to reinforce the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia, on the basis of common values, with the aim of consolidating stability, security and prosperity on the European continent. We reaffirmed our shared vision of a united European continent.' Thus read the opening paragraph of the Joint statement issued after the 12th EU-Russia Summit, held in November 2003. Although the EU was even then expressing concern over a number of issues (including the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, head of the Yukos oil company, in October 2003 on charges of fraud and tax evasion, and Russia's decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in September 2003) relations were better than they are now. It was the December 2003 European Council which invited the Commission to draw up 'an assessment report on all aspects of the Union's relations with Russia and to propose measures aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership and respect of the values on which it is based'. It is widely held that the Council's request was triggered by the actions of Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who presided over the November Summit. Ignoring EU policy guidelines, Mr Berlusconi refused to criticise Russia's human rights violations in Chechnya or Moscow's refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol, and instead defended the arrest of Mr Khodorovsky and Russia's alleged human rights abuses in Chechnya (Financial Times: However, Mr Berlusconi's idiosyncratic approach to the Russian President was only the latest in a series of initiatives taken by individual Member States, which appear to give lie to the concept of a united EU approach to Russia. As the Financial Times put it: 'too many European leaders have been trying to forge special relationships with the Kremlin. Both Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder were said to have 'soft-pedalled' on Chechnya. President Chirac was very critical, 'until he saw a chance of winning Russian support for his opposition to US policy in Iraq and other issues' at which point he 'abandoned criticism of the Chechen war overnight.' Whilst such moves can be seen simply as the prerogative of national governments to make political capital where they can, they also assist 'those in Moscow who believe the best way to deal with the EU is to divide and rule.' (See: Adopted on 9 February 2004, the Communication ... on relations with Russia advocates 'a more coherent and more consistent approach to relations with Russia'. It does not question the value of Russia to the EU, but stresses the importance to the Union of 'an open, stable and democratic Russia, acting as a strategic partner which can uphold European values, continue reforms, implement commitments and, in cooperation with the EU, play a constructive role in the [New Independent States].' Neither does it avoid the reality of the relationship, arguing that 'the EU and Russia should be ready, as strategic partners, to discuss frankly all issues of concern, including human rights, media freedom and events in Chechnya ... (see press release: Commission calls for the strengthening of EU-Russia relations) The Communication proposes that the European Union should seek to manage the relationship by:
A major concern at the moment is Russia's refusal to renew the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), described as 'the essential cornerstone of the European Union's relations with Russia.' The EU wants the PCA to apply 'without pre-condition or distinction' to all 25 Member States from 1 May. Russia has so far refused to extend the Agreement, claiming that it will lose out when preferential trade agreements which it has with some of the Acceding States end. The EU argues that a new PCA will bring greater benefits to Russia. Some see Russia's intransigence as a way of protesting at the Union's enlargement, which will bring into the EU fold many countries which were previously under Russian domination. The EU insists that it is willing to discuss 'legitimate concerns' about enlargement, but that the PCA is a separate issue. The Financial Times reported that Russia had presented the EU with 'a list of 14 concerns linked to EU enlargement'. Whilst the overall aim is apparently to reduce the impact of enlargement on Russian businesses, 'the list also raises some controversial political issues, such as visa requirements for Russian citizens wanting to travel into the EU and the status of Russian-speaking communities in the Baltic countries (see: However, on 22 February, speaking to the Financial Times, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of EU relations said that 'Moscow might be willing to avoid creating a legal vacuum after the May 1 enlargement date by extending the PCA's terms to the new EU members at least until June' (see: Providing agreement can be reached on extending the PCA to the new Member States, the Communication calls for the EU to start work on an Action Plan intended to develop the concept of 'common spaces' agreed at the November 2003 Summit (covering: economy; freedom, security and justice; external security; research and education). The Commission wants the Action Plan ready to be discussed at the EU-Russia Summit in May. The Commission's Communication was welcomed by the External Relations Council on 23 February, at which participants 'had a thorough discussion and assessed all aspects of EU-Russia bilateral relations.' Amongst other things, Ministers agreed that, in its future dealings with Russia, 'the EU will clearly identify and present its interests, objectives and priorities. It will promote increased coherence across all areas of cooperation through the adoption, when appropriate, of common positions. A few days later, the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on EU-Russia relations, which recommended that the European Council should revise its policy on Russia according to the following objectives:
Parliament also emphasised the need to ensure that the Union's partnership with Russia 'is based to a greater degree on respect for shared values' and that 'no exceptions should be allowed to this rule' (see: Firm and consistent policy needed towards Russia). Speaking to Parliament during its debate, External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten said 'There are positive elements to the relationship. But, overall, we have to accept that the results of five years of increasingly intensive co-operation are not as positive as we expected, and we have to do something about that' (see: Chris Patten: EP Plenary Debate on Russia). Of particular interest was his summary of the External Affairs Council, at which: 'Ministers recognised the need for the EU to change the way in which it does business with Russia, to become more 'joined up', to use bureaucratic terminology. It was agreed that the EU should establish clear, agreed objectives and positions ahead of every meeting with Russia. If we wish to build what can honestly be described as a strategic partnership, EU messages must be balanced and coherent, and our ambitious political declarations must be matched by progress on substance. This requires better co-ordination between policies defined at EU level and the approach of individual Member States to relations with Russia. Why, for example, is it that the EU subscribes to joint statements with Russia, in which we agree to step up co-operation on crisis management, yet the EU is unable to convince Russia to work with it to resolve the very real problems in Moldova and the Southern Caucasus? Why, in addition, do we see individual Member States agree to facilitate visas for Russia, at the same time as Russia is blocking conclusion of a re-admission agreement?' Russian elections An exit poll suggested that President Putin had been returned to power with 69% of the vote following the election on 14 March (see BBC: Russia's Putin sweeps to victory). The fact that his victory was assured will not have comforted those in the EU who worry that Russia is moving away from democracy. The December 2003 parliamentary elections were said by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to have favoured the pro-Putin winning party, United Russia, which had benefited from preferential media coverage. In the words of the Financial Times, Mr Putin 'barely even pretends to support real democracy any more ... [and] launched his re-election campaign with a 30-minute speech that in the best Soviet tradition was broadcast on state television several times' (see: Mr Putin's four years in power have, said the Financial Times, 'restored the power of the security services', with the siloviki - members of the security services, police, prosecutors and the military - being given important political positions. In
Why is Mr Putin so popular? An article in European Voice suggested that 'Young people liked his cool, tough image: a mixture of Batman and James Bond' (see: Further information within European Sources Online European Sources Online: In Focus
European Sources Online: Financial Times
European Sources Online: European Voice
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions European Commission
DG Press and Communication
DG External Relations
Council of the European Union
European Parliament
Media organisations BBC News Online
Eric Davies Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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