| Russia and Germany assure each other of the unchanged course Celebrations dedicated to the start of construction of the North European Gas Pipeline, which will take place today near Vologda, promise to become one of the main events in Russian-German relations. The main thing, without a doubt, would be the presence of Vladimir Putin and the new German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But, perhaps, they will be the only ones who will not be at the celebrations. As expected, the Russian side's event will be attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, his first deputy and head of the board of directors of Gazprom Dmitry Medvedev, ministers Sergei Lavrov, Viktor Khristenko and German Gref, representatives of the State Duma led by Speaker Boris Gryzlov. The German delegation is headed by the Ministers of Economics and Foreign Affairs. In addition, the leaders of all - both government and opposition - factions of the Bundestag, the new head of the SPD and a potential contender for the chancellorship, Matthias Platzeck, as well as the chairman of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, Klaus Mangold, will come to the Vologda region. Of course, Gazprom's partners in the project - E.ON Ruhrgas and BASF - will also be represented.
However, the Russian President and the German Chancellor will most likely have the opportunity to personally consecrate some event related to the NEGP project more than once. Moreover, according to the schedule, the launch of the gas pipeline is scheduled for the distant July 2010.
Vladimir Putin met yesterday at his residence in Novo-Ogarevo with a member of Angela Merkel’s cabinet, the new Minister of Economy, Michael Glos. It turned out that the president's communication with Mrs. Merkel will likely be no less intense than with her predecessor Gerhard Schröder. The President said that the head of the German government is scheduled to visit Moscow in January, and traditional interstate consultations will be held in Tomsk in March. “I very much hope that not only will the momentum be maintained, but also that new important acquisitions will be made to develop our trade and economic cooperation,” said Vladimir Putin. Minister Glos responded by assuring him that he had come to Russia precisely to demonstrate continuity in already good economic relations: “There can be no doubt that we are interested in the further development of strong economic and other relations with Russia.”
Business also agrees with the opinion of politicians. Russian-German economic relations are flourishing - this is the main result of a survey conducted by the Eastern Committee of the German Economy among more than 2,000 German companies operating in Russia. Exactly the same optimistic conclusion was made last year. However, according to the majority of survey participants, 2005 turned out to be better than predicted. Over the coming years, over 80% of the surveyed enterprises expect a turnover growth of more than 10%. Such optimism allows German business circles to plan investments in the Russian economy in an amount exceeding 2 billion euros.
“The German economy proceeds from the fact that with the coming to power of a new government in Germany, our relations with Russia will maintain the existing stability and become even more dynamic,” said Oliver Wiick, executive director of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, in an interview with a Berlin correspondent of Vremya Novostey. -- During the negotiations on the formation of a coalition government, concerns were heard from Moscow about a possible “cooling” of our relations with Russia. I’m sure this is out of the question.”
Vladimir Putin yesterday reminded the German minister that the Russian government had decided to create high-tech zones “with very liberal taxation,” and expressed hope that German companies would show interest in working together in this area. “We also have very good agreements in the development of infrastructure, transport and communications,” the president added. According to Putin, he is also aware of the interest of German companies in such sectors of the Russian economy as construction and medicine. “We will welcome the development of our relations in these areas that are important for our economy,” he said. Let us recall that this week two large German investments in the Russian financial sector were already announced: Deutsche bank for several hundred million dollars is buying out a 60 percent stake in the United Financial Group and becoming its sole owner, and Dresdner bank is acquiring for more than 810 million dollars additional issue of shares of Gazprombank, becoming the owner of a 33.3 percent stake.
Mr. Wiik believes that the recent visit to Moscow of the new German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier confirmed the continuity of German foreign policy towards Russia. The participation of Michael Glos in the ceremony to begin construction of the North European Gas Pipeline and the meeting with President Putin, according to Oliver Wiik, will be a new step towards maintaining the high degree of mutual trust that has been established between Russia and Germany in recent years.
The largest volume of potential German investments, according to the Eastern Committee, is planned in the energy and automotive industries of Russia. Business circles believe that thanks to the joint NEGP construction project, Germany will have direct access to Russia's gigantic natural gas reserves. This new infrastructure project will significantly improve the reliability and security of natural gas supplies to Germany and other EU countries by diversifying transport routes, the Eastern Committee report notes.
The Eastern Committee of the German Economy does not see any insurmountable difficulties in the emerging problem of concern in Poland and the Baltic countries about the prospect of constructing a Russian-German “bypass pipe”. “Of course, it is important that the needs and concerns of Poland, which has become an equal EU country, are taken seriously by the project participants,” says Oliver Wiik. - At the same time, one cannot fail to take into account the strategic importance of the NEG - first of all for Russia. Therefore, negotiations between all interested parties are necessary.” Mr. Wiik also said that those who express their doubts or concerns should not be excluded from the process. It would be reasonable if the countries participating in the construction of the NEGP explained to Poland the goals and objectives of the project in more detail. “There is a very reasonable Russian interest in establishing gas supplies to Germany without intermediaries,” he says. - On the other hand, Poland’s potential interest in participating in this project cannot be ignored. In such matters, compromise solutions can and should be sought. Moreover, the business climate in Russia is becoming more and more favorable for European investors.”
This is confirmed by the results of the Eastern Committee survey: almost 90% of German enterprises surveyed are of the opinion that the business climate in Russia has improved in recent years. The overwhelming majority of respondents are confident that the trend will continue in the coming years. This is one of the reasons that over 60% of German firms on the Russian market expect their profits to grow at an “above average” level.
Representatives of surveyed German firms cite the steadily increasing purchasing power of Russians and their “consumer behavior” as the most convincing advantages of the Russian market. Also, such parameters of business relations as “competitive climate” and “access to information” received a positive assessment from German businessmen in Russia.
The survey results showed that “the Russian government’s reform measures are moving in the right direction.” At the same time, the government’s steps in reforming tax law and the field of financial services received special recognition. On the contrary, the Germans still traditionally see the “need for reforms” in the sphere of bureaucracy and customs rules. The “lack of transparency” in decision-making on the part of Russian authorities is also critically noted. Yuri Shpakov, Berlin, Ivan GORDEEV |
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