Transferring the key

Russia is the focus of Germany's dual presidency

Yesterday, at the most respectable Berlin hotel, the Adlon, high-ranking experts from Russia and Germany analyzed “new chances and challenges” for strengthening the strategic partnership of both countries in the coming year. The meeting, organized by the German Society for Foreign Policy and the new Russian English-language magazine Russia Profile, featured speeches from Russian Presidential Aide Igor Shuvalov, who served as commissioner for last year’s G8 summit, as well as former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. This meeting, as its organizers noted, was a symbolic act of “handing over the key” to the G8 from the Russian representative for the G8, Germany.

Recently, German politicians have repeatedly stated that Germany, within the framework of its current dual chairmanship - in the EU and the G8 - will strive to expand cooperation between Russia and the European Union. The moderator of the meeting in Adlon, Chairman of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy Klaus Mangold, noted that cooperation between the two countries is increasingly extending beyond the energy sector: “Russia is the focus of the current dual chairmanship of Germany. This explains the need for Chancellor Merkel’s visit to Russia in the coming days.” The head of the Eastern Committee emphasized that relations between Germany and Russia are developing “excellently” and “retain the distinct style of Chancellor Schröder.”

Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sees real opportunities for “stabilizing the whole of Europe” in deepening cooperation with Russia in the field of energy. This statement sounded dissonant against the backdrop of essentially unanimous calls by senior German politicians to reduce the level of energy dependence of Germany and the EU on Russia, which was caused by Moscow’s “energy wars” with Belarus and Ukraine. But Schroeder’s words did not come as a surprise to those gathered. After leaving the post of chancellor in November 2005, he headed the supervisory board of the company for the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which caused a negative reaction in German society. Schröder called the transformation of relations between Russians and Germans in the post-war decades a “miracle”. And to applause, he noted “the historical merits of President Putin” in establishing the stability of the Russian state, without which true democracy is impossible: “We, the Germans and the Europeans, must support this path of stabilization.” The ex-chancellor recalled the words from Putin’s speech in the Bundestag more than five years ago that broad integration of the potentials of Russia and the EU is a unique chance for the Old Continent.

Schröder criticized calls for greater diversification of energy supplies. After all, in 15-20 years the EU will be 70% dependent on external energy purchases. Should we focus on the unstable regimes of the Middle East and Africa? The only reasonable alternative remains expanding partnership with Russia, the ex-chancellor is sure. And Nord Stream is a “central European project.”

The same opinion is shared by Igor Shuvalov, who at the very beginning of his speech supported “almost everything” said by “Mr. Under the leadership of President Putin, the Moscow guest emphasized, Russia is positioning itself as a “great European power.” Within Europe, Russia, with its excellent economic development, is like the best student in the class, which many envy. This, Shuvalov believes, is what gives rise to the “misunderstanding” that Russia faces in Europe: “However, our successes will ultimately benefit the entire great European civilization.” Shuvalov drew the attention of those gathered to the fact that Russia’s accession to the WTO will make it possible to integrate our country even more closely into the world economy.

Yuri Shpakov, Berlin