“Russia must help Europeans”

On the eve of the EU summit opening today in Brussels, Poland has established itself as the most uncompromising member of the European family, which has caused a lot of trouble for the current chairman of the European Union, Germany. Warsaw has not lifted last year's veto on negotiations between Moscow and the European Union on a new agreement on cooperation and partnership. And now Poland has threatened to block negotiations on a pan-European constitutional treaty.

People around Chancellor Angela Merkel say that she has not given in one iota to Poland's demands. According to German analysts, with its attacks on the European constitution, Warsaw is trying to take revenge on Brussels for the passive position taken in the Polish-Russian quarrel. How do Germany itself evaluate the results of the German six-month presidency of the EU? Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the German Bundestag, Ruprecht POLENZ, told Vremya Novostey about this.

- If the current EU summit fails due to the fault of Warsaw, then the results of the German European Presidency will not be so impressive...

-- Regarding “failure”, one should not rush to conclusions. The Germans say in such cases - having not seen the evening, there is nothing to boast about. Much will depend on what compromises the summit participants in Brussels manage to reach. We remain optimistic.

—What has Germany achieved during its chairmanship?

-- An unconditional success was the EU energy summit held in March. It was possible to agree on joint goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The common position of the Europeans led to a breakthrough at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, chaired by Germany. The United States declared there its readiness to participate in the development of an agreement that will replace the Kyoto Protocol. Positions on Iran's nuclear program and the status of Kosovo were agreed upon. Another important result is the achievement of consensus regarding energy security and reliability of energy supply in all 27 EU member countries.

-- Poland's approach to the problem of the European constitution has brought the current summit to the brink of failure. Is Warsaw really trying to reshape a united Europe according to its own model?

- Poland, as an important EU country, defends its interests, and this is completely legal. It is important that it advances these interests not through veto power, but through constructive cooperation in developing a common EU position. This is what the efforts of Germany and a number of other countries were aimed at. The current summit will show how much we managed to convince the Poles.

—What is your attitude to Warsaw’s concerns about the possible “Germanization” of Europe?

- Look at the history of Europe over the last two centuries. Poland was squeezed by its large neighbors, divided in 1939 by Stalin and Hitler, and attacked by Nazi Germany. The past still gives rise to fears, and this should be treated with understanding. Berlin is making a particularly strong effort to hold close and intensive consultations with Warsaw. We would be glad if Moscow tried to dispel Polish fears with the help of appropriate policies.

— Do you mean the discussion around the ban on the import of Polish agricultural products to Russia?

— The dispute over the supply of Polish meat is not a bilateral problem between Moscow and Warsaw, but a problem between Moscow and Brussels, because trade relations between individual EU countries are within the competence of the European Commission. It is wrong to reduce everything in this dispute between the EU and Russia to veterinary issues; Poland exports meat to many other countries, and there are no complaints. I hope that the signal received the other day that the dispute will be settled in the near future will be justified. After all, this is a condition for starting negotiations on a new cooperation and partnership agreement between the EU and Russia.

-- Russian politicians associated positive expectations with Germany's EU presidency. In fact, relations between the EU and Russia have become even colder...

- There are several reasons. The EU and Russia failed to start negotiations on a new cooperation agreement. There were tensions over the gas conflict with Ukraine, and later over oil with Belarus. The EU is also concerned about political events inside Russia. We are talking about restrictions on the activities of non-governmental organizations and the lack of opportunities, primarily among television channels, to provide critical and independent materials. When the law on non-governmental organizations was being prepared in Russia, we were assured that in reality everything would not be so bad. In practice, just the opposite happened. I admit that some of Russia’s hopes did not come true. The fact remains that the EU is Russia’s most important trading partner, their cooperation is mutually beneficial, and it is in our common interests to do significantly more in this area than is being done now.

-- Will negotiations on a new basic agreement between the EU and Russia begin in the foreseeable future?

- Undoubtedly, there are chances, as well as an urgent need to raise our relations to a modern level. Many provisions of the previous agreement have become outdated after ten years, so there is not much sense in its automatic extension. It would be right to start a dialogue on new realities soon. Russia must help Europeans resolve problems, the burden of which lies mainly on our shoulders. I am referring to the question of the status of Kosovo. We see with concern that Russia, although it formulates its objections very carefully, is very skeptical about the proposals of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari. By doing so, Moscow is provoking processes that will benefit no one. After all, a unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence will cause a chain reaction of similar phenomena in a number of Muslim states, and not only there. This would be a precedent that no one needs. The position that Moscow takes on this issue will, to a certain extent, become an indicator of Russia's relations with the EU.

Interviewed by Yuri Shpakov, Berlin