Without trust

European bosses will ask Lavrov about human rights

Today, the foreign ministers of 27 EU member countries are gathering in Luxembourg for a two-day meeting. One of the topics of discussion should be the preparation of a new partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and Russia. In Luxembourg they are waiting for the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, who will meet today with the foreign policy “troika” of the European Union. It includes the Foreign Minister of the German EU presidency Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the European Commissioner for Foreign Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and the head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso.

On the eve of the current meeting of the EU Council, the topic of relations with Russia was raised by the European Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson. At an energy forum in Bologna on Friday, he said mistrust between the EU and Russia had reached "levels unseen since the Cold War" and "they are at a difficult moment in the history of their relationship." Distrust and misunderstanding, in his opinion, were the reason for the failure of specific cooperation projects. They are based on ideology. Europeans see the 1990s as “a decade of reform, transformation and increased prosperity” leading to a “unified Europe.” However, for most Russians this is a period of chaos and instability, a decline in Russian influence.

“When we talk about our concerns and call for sharing our values, the experience of the last twenty years does not allow the Russians to see this as the concern of a friend and partner. In their eyes, this is only the intervention of a very unselfish neighbor, says Mandelson. “We risk making a grave mistake in relations with Russia if we do not recognize this difference in perception.” He regrets that interest in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is fading in Russia. After all, the WTO, in his opinion, will give Russia more than state management of the economy. “The main characteristics of a country with enormous potential, such as Russia, cannot be rigid centralized political control and an economy based on energy rent,” says Mr. Mandelson.

Germany does not want to spoil its current six-month EU presidency with an embarrassing failure. She fears that the May EU-Russia summit in Samara will be as empty as the November summit in Helsinki . Until the last moment, uncertainty reigned in Brussels and Luxembourg. German diplomats and European Commission officials “expressed optimism” and noted “positive signals,” hoping that European Commissioner Marcos Kyprianou and Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeev would manage to resolve the dispute over the supply of Polish meat. Then today in Luxembourg the long-awaited mandate would be immediately approved, and on May 18 in Samara, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Russian President Vladimir Putin could solemnly announce the start of negotiations on a new basic agreement on cooperation between Russia and the EU.

However, an attempt to resolve the conflict surrounding the Russian ban on the supply of Polish meat was unsuccessful. Warsaw's veto on the start of negotiations between the EU and Russia on a new cooperation agreement remains in force. Experts believe that the Kremlin is in no hurry to begin negotiations on a strategic agreement, since it has not decided on a strategy for Europe. The 1994 agreement is outdated and expires this year, but it can be extended indefinitely without leaving a legal vacuum.

In the spring of 2004, in Luxembourg, representatives of Russia and the European Union signed a protocol on extending the basic agreement on partnership and cooperation to ten new EU members . This was the resolution of a difficult diplomatic conflict around Kaliningrad transit, the rights of the Russian-speaking population of the Baltic states, and trade and economic problems. Now Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his German counterpart Steinmeier as President of the Council of the EU and European Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will sign a similar protocol for Bulgaria and Romania.

The topic of filling the “common spaces” between Russia and the EU, which was the central project in 2004, has also lost its former urgency. The “Spaces” were intended to almost merge Europe and Russia into one; this issue was covered in the European media as an “epoch-making breakthrough.” Today, the shell of “spaces” is at least filling up: last week the EU Council ratified an agreement to simplify the visa regime for certain categories of Russian citizens - officials, students and journalists. However, in general, public interest in “common spaces” with Russia in Europe has waned.

Last week, the European Commission and Germany, as the EU presidency, said they were “alarmed” by the actions of Russian security forces against “dissent marches” and reminded Russia of its international obligations and the basic principles of relations with the EU. The next opportunity to remind you of this is the arrival of Sergei Lavrov to a meeting with the European “troika” in Luxembourg.

“The EU’s response to the demonstrations and actions of the Russian police is not on the agenda of the EU Council and the meeting with Minister Lavrov,” Germany’s permanent representative to the EU, Wilhelm Schönefelder, told Vremya Novostei. - Usually such topics are raised during dinners outside the main discussion. In Luxembourg there is an opportunity to discuss this issue in depth. On behalf of the EU, we made a tough rather than a soft statement. If Mr. Lavrov has read it, he may want to raise this topic himself. We doubt the proportionality of the police actions, and we are concerned about the treatment of journalists by the authorities. As a member of the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe, Russia is obliged to respect human rights, freedom of assembly and procession, freedom of speech.”

As for the prepared agenda for the meeting with Lavrov, it, according to Schoenefelder, consists of two large blocks. “The first is a review of Russia-EU relations in preparation for the summit in Samara, including the possible start of negotiations on an agreement, including a discussion about its ideological, political and economic basis. Energy is part of this foundation. We are looking forward to a deep and interesting discussion, an open, frank exchange of views with Sergei Lavrov. The second block is international. There are many important problems that are very difficult to solve without cooperation with Russia. Take Kosovo, which we will talk about. We are also interested in cooperation with Russia on Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East and Central Asia.”

Alexander MINEEV, Brussels--Luxembourg