EU-Rusland top in Moskou op 10 mei (en)

The 15 ^th Summit of EU and Russian leaders will take place in Moscow on 10 May hosted by President Vladimir Putin, just one day after the celebrations to mark the 60 ^th anniversary of the end of World War II and the defeat of fascism. Both events underline unity in Europe, with the ambition of the Summit being agreement on a comprehensive and detailed package of measures to create four EU/Russia "common spaces", in the fields of the Economy, External Security, Freedom, Security and Justice and Education, Research and Culture. Negotiations are in their final stages. European Commission proposals to support economic and social recovery in the northern Caucasus region will also be discussed, as will a range of international issues including OSCE, Moldova, Georgia and Iran. The EU will be represented by the President of the European Council, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso i. Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana will also participate.

Jose Manuel Barroso i, President of the European Commission said, "Following the constructive, positive and in depth dialogue which I had recently with President Putin, I want this summit to lift our relations with Russia to a new and higher level. The EU is ready to work in partnership with Russia to achieve our common goals. The 4 part-plan which is at the heart of the summit agenda sets out an ambitious programme for co-operation. An agreement next week will revitalise the EU-Russia partnership giving it the tools it needs to meet the challenges of a new century."

The Summit will re-launch an ambitious and focussed EU/Russia strategic partnership. The Road Maps that will be adopted for each of the common spaces contain agreed, detailed objectives for cooperation, as well as specific actions to be taken by the EU or Russia in order to attain these objectives. Implementation and monitoring of the Road Maps will be overseen by the newly-invigorated Permanent Partnership Council, which will meet more frequently and bring together Ministers to take decisions.

The objective of the common economic space is to create an open and integrated market between the EU and Russia. Work on this space will bring down barriers to trade and investment and promote reforms and competitiveness, based on the principles of non-discrimination, transparency and good governance. Among the wide range of actions foreseen in the road map, an EU/Russia regulatory dialogue on industrial products is to be launched, as well as greater cooperation on investment issues, competition and financial services.

It is also foreseen to enhance cooperation in the telecommunications, transport and energy fields, on issues such as regulatory standard-setting and infrastructure development. Moreover, it has been agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of environment, notably on climate change and the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, and outer space activities, such as space launching.

The principles underlying the common space of freedom, security and justice include democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including free and independent media and the effective application of common values by independent judicial systems. Work on this space will see adoption in the nearest future of agreements on readmission and visa facilitation, which together will promote greater contact between the citizens of the EU and Russia via travel and tourism as well as facilitate business and official travel. The European Commission firmly believes in the benefits of facilitated travel for all Europeans and will continue to examine with Russia the conditions for visa-free travel as a long-term perspective. The regular EU/Russia consultations on human rights, which were launched in March, fall within this space, as does cooperation on combating terrorism, organised crime and corruption.

The common space of external security will set the scene for enhanced EU/Russia cooperation to resolve the lingering frozen conflicts in Europe (Transdniestria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh) in line inter alia with OSCE commitments. The EU's aim is to engage Russia in concrete actions as well as political dialogue, in order to reinforce the efforts that the EU already undertakes in these regions e.g. humanitarian assistance, economic rehabilitation, confidence building and efforts to tackle poverty and human rights abuses which contribute to instability, in particular via the European Neighbourhood Policy. The EU and Russia have also decided to step up cooperation on non-proliferation questions, on crisis management and on civil protection.

Work to create the common space of research and education, including cultural aspects, aims to capitalise on the strength of EU and Russian research communities and cultural and intellectual heritage by identifying key measures to promote economic growth and strengthen competitiveness, reinforce links between research and innovation, encourage close cooperation in the field of education - including the convergence of university course formats and qualifications - and promote cultural and linguistic diversity. The EU will note the progress made in setting up a European Training institute in Moscow, which will be up and running in 2006.

At the Summit, the EU will underline its support for Russian WTO accession in 2005. It will also note the importance of addressing the unique situation of Kaliningrad in the broad context of the socio-economic development of the region and underscore the need to avoid creating economic or social dividing lines between Kaliningrad and neighbouring EU countries.

Following the `needs assessment' mission of the European Commission to the north Caucasus in April, the Commission will note its readiness to support economic and social recovery in the region, in addition to the continued need for humanitarian assistance, which it will call on Russia to facilitate. It will underline that tackling inequality and promoting human rights - as factors contributing to stability - remain key challenges and will express its hope that free and fair Parliamentary elections in Chechnya this autumn will rally the support of the population to the political process.

For more information:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/russia/intro/index.htm