Vanhanen vows to tackle Putin over human rights

The Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen has promised that EU leaders will raise the ­"difficult issues" of human rights and press freedom in Russia when they meet President Vladimir Putin on Friday (20 October).

EU leaders have come under pressure to take a tough stance on Russia ­after the murder last week of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of the Kremlin’s policies.

Putin has been invited to join the informal summit of EU leaders in the Finnish town of Lahti to discuss energy.

Vanhanen said he was not afraid of discussing difficult subjects with the Russian president. "On the one hand, there are ­positive things like trade and economic relations, but there is also, in the same package, democracy and human rights," said Vanhanen, who is chairman-in-office of the ­European Council until the end of December.

"When we discuss the positive things, we also discuss democracy. It will be part of any discussion with Russia. We cannot separate these.

"There is a long tradition between Finland and Russia to debate difficult things…True partnership does not shy away from difficult issues and the Finnish presidency will raise them," he said.

Vanhanen rejected the fear, expressed by some EU diplomats, that the summit would weaken the EU’s hand in negotiations with Russia by showing Putin that member states did not speak with one voice on energy. "Russia already knows that. It is not a ­surprise for Putin," he said, adding: "I am quite sure we will find…a common message from the ­European side to Putin."

Vanhanen said the message he would propose to his fellow government leaders, was that "there is real interdependence bet­ween the EU and Russia" on energy, "the same rules apply

for everybody", co-operation should be ­market-based, with market prices, where there can be no political decisions and should be based on ­reciprocity.

Vanhanen admitted that there were "lots of problems" with the creation of a genuine internal market for energy. He said the protectionist attitude of some EU governments, which sought to prevent foreign takeovers of their energy companies, would "be part of the discussion". "We have to open our doors and increase Europe’s ­possibilities in a globalising world," he added.

The Finnish premier said that energy security could be achieved only by strengthening networks, both gas pipelines and electricity grids across the EU, "so that every country would have chances to get energy from different ­directions. This would be the only way to get a really functioning electricity market".

Vanhanen said he ­wanted the Lahti summit to make progress on the innovation agenda, which was "crucial for European welfare".

He hoped to garner ­support for the European Commission’s plan to ­create a European Institute of Technology and to make progress on "our too ­complicated patent system". He said the ­London Agreement on patent translations, under which participant member states would entirely, or partly, give up their right to a translation, would be "one way to bring more effectiveness to the system" and cut costs to companies.

Vanhanen said that if Finland, which is considered to be a champion in innovation, could give one lesson to the rest of the EU, it would be about building co-operation bet­ween companies, state funding, universities and scientific institutions.

The Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen has promised that EU leaders will raise the ­"difficult issues" of human rights and press freedom in Russia when they meet President Vladimir Putin on Friday (20 October).

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