Topconferentie EU-Rusland in Moskou van start (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders have arrived in Moscow for the first summit with Russia since the Union expanded to take in eight post-Soviet states.

Council President Bertie Ahern and his Commission counterpart Romano Prodi arrived in Moscow last night to attend the summit.

Mr Ahern will be the first EU leader to represent the enlarged Union of 25 member states when he meets President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later today (21 May).

Following a rocky period in the relationship, both sides will be keen to present themselves as partners and prove that the relationship can still work.

A row over enlargement marred relations in recent months, with Moscow refusing to sign a deal extending relations to the 10 new member states and the EU responding with the threat of sanctions.

But with an eleventh hour deal now in place, the stage is set for the two sides to reframe relations.

For its part the EU will want to erase memories of the last EU Russia summit, when Italian leader - and then head of the Council - Silvio Berlusconi transformed EU policy on Chechnya in front of Europe's press corps, to the fury of on-looking leaders.

Detail

Diplomats expect the summit to see a deal on Russian accession to the World Trade Organisation, allowing leaders to present a much-needed achievement.

However, yesterday, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy was still locked in last minute talks with the Russian economics minister German Gref over Russia's WTO accession - which the EU is effectively blocking.

A handful of issues still appear to be outstanding including the transition time for cutting Russian energy subsidies, which the EU says disadvantage European business.

The EU will also use the occasion to press for Russian ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, which requires the country's backing to come into force.

Implementation of the protocol has been the backbone of the EU's environmental policy and the Union has pushed Russia hard to sign up to it.

If the WTO issue is resolved, a breakthrough could be at hand.

President Putin's envoy to Europe Sergei Yastrzhembsky earlier this week told the EUobserver that progress on WTO membership could facilitate progress on Russian ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.

The Summit itself is set to focus on the creation of four `common spaces' between the two sides in the areas of economics, research and education, freedom, security and justice, as well as external security, although this is not expected to be finalised before the autumn.

Russia will also press for the simplification of the EU's visa regime.