Baltic Rim Economies - Baltic Port List

Expert article 853 Baltic Rim Economies, 21.12.2011 Quarterly Review 5�2011
Bringing EU-Russian relations to a new level
By Jose Manuel Barroso
Relations between Russia and the European Union have been
growing in importance and their dialogue has been improving
in quality. Indeed, in this new rapidly changing and globalised
world, the EU and Russia are increasingly interdependent. We
have a common cultural heritage forged throughout the long
course of Europe's history. European and Russian culture from
music, to arts and literature have been influencing each other
to the point of being one and the same. Europe and Russia
also share the same continent and have a strong interest in
stability and harmonious development from the European
peninsula to Asia. Economically, our industries are set to
benefit significantly from a greater integration of trade,
investment and technology exchange. In the field of energy,
we also have a lot to gain from an increased security of supply
and transit, a diversified set of suppliers and clients and
improved efficiency.
In the past two decades this relationship has been
considerably strengthened, as illustrated by increased dialogue
on strategic issues, growing cooperation on security and
defence e.g., within the EUFOR Chad FCA and greater
bilateral trade flows. Russia was the EU's third-largest supplier
and fourth-largest client in 2010. The EU is Russia's most
important trading partner by far, accounting for 50% of its
overall trade in 2010. It is also the biggest investor in Russia
and 75% of Russian FDI stocks come from EU Member
States. The key question, therefore, is not whether the EU and
Russia are interdependent on a wide range of political and
economical issues, but rather how that interdependence will be
managed.
There will certainly be a great many difficulties to
overcome, as the 2008 crisis in Georgia and the erection of
trade barriers after the first phase of the economic crisis have
shown. However, both Russia and the EU have important
"assets" which will help keep efforts on track. I would like to
mention three of them.
Firstly, we share a strategic goal: a strong and resultsoriented
bilateral relationship is in the long term interest of
European and Russian citizens and is necessary in order to
address global macro-economic issues and societal
challenges of mutual concern.
Secondly, our relationship is rooted in both official and
informal contacts between our administrations and societies.
The EU and Russia have succeeded in working on a common
agenda and in defining joint projects. This pragmatic approach
is based on a solid legal background and an intense network of
formal or informal working groups, joint councils and summits.
Finally, our relationship is having a transformative impact.
The support provided by the EU's strengthening of trade and
technological cooperation is also improving the rule of law in
Russia and facilitating contact between civil society on both
sides; both are essential for making the modernisation effort
sustainable in the long term.
Combining a strategic view of our future with a pragmatic
and transformational agenda is certainly the most efficient way
to improve EU-Russia relations. This was precisely our main
goal when I agreed with President Medvedev the idea of a
"modernisation partnership".
This partnership was formally launched at the Rostov
summit in June 2010 and draws heavily on the achievement of
the EU-Russia "common spaces": Economy, Freedom,
Security and Justice, External Security, Research and
Education. It is a broad platform which also encompasses the
strengthening of the rule of law and citizens' rights. In this
respect, the EU is working together with Russian authorities on
a Russian-wide judicial appeal system, and we have welcomed
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the creation in March 2011 of an independent EU-Russia civil
society forum.
This is also a joint effort on the EU side and complements
the partnerships being developed by Member States at
national level. More importantly, the partnership has already
started to deliver practical results -cooperation in the space
sector was demonstrated by the successful launch of a Soyuz
from an EU space port, as part of the Galileo programme last
October; technical regulations are being aligned in several
sectors; and discussions on a visa-free short-term travel
regime are in progress - all of which reflect a common vision of
the future.
The fact that the EBRD and the EIB are also associated to
the finance of modernisation initiatives means that concrete
financial support will be given to projects in both the private
and public sector. This is a significant achievement.
Russia's accession to the WTO which the EU and in
particular the Commission, has been very actively supporting
is another building block of the modernization agenda that both
the EU and Russian authorities are working on. It is clearly in
the interest of the EU, Russia and the rest of the world to see
this last major world player joining the multilateral trading
system. Following the agreement between Georgia and
Russia, the EU looks forward to seeing Russia's accession
finalised at the WTO ministerial meeting mid-December.
Russian accession would strengthen world trade and hopefully
contribute towards consolidating EU-Russian relations and
closer bilateral economic ties.
The years to come will also be crucial for proving Russian
commitment to the consistency, predictability and values
necessary for the country's development, notably after the
Duma and Presidential elections. A new impetus regarding
domestic reforms is needed as well as in the negotiation of our
future Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Dialogue on
energy policy should also be increased, and an attempt should
be made to find common ground on the Energy Charter and
how to implement it.
Involving the business sector and our civil societies will
also be crucial. European companies have played an important
role in rebuilding the Russian economy and meeting consumer
needs there. Contacts between our universities, artists,
entrepreneurs also need to be fostered. We can provide the
platform to facilitate the emergence of these trends, but it will
be businesses and their leaders, our students and researchers
and civil society at large that will have the main role in the next
chapter of European and Russian relations.
Jose Manuel Barroso
President of the European Commission
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