Scandinavische en Baltische leiders roepen op tot gezamenlijk Europees beleid jegens Rusland (en)

Nordic and Baltic leaders have demanded a clear EU policy towards Russia, following a joint meeting in Reykjavik on Monday (24 October).

Speaking at a press conference, Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said "France has a Russia policy and Germany has one, but Brussels lacks a policy towards Russia".

Mr Persson underlined the importance of a joint EU policy towards Russia to which the Nordic and Baltic countries can relate.

"Otherwise, in the absence of clear and common guidelines about Russia for all EU countries, there is a risk of the small Baltic countries being caught in the middle", Mr Persson said.

The meeting took place during a Nordic Council session in the Icelandic capital.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not members of the Nordic Council, but have a strong co-operation with the Nordic bloc.

No bloc in the EU

The Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) do not intend to form a bloc within the EU, the prime ministers agreed at their meeting, but want to keep their strong ties.

Their meeting was held in preparation for an informal EU summit in London later this week.

"The co-operation is, however, very good and just gets better and more comprehensive all the time", Aigars Kalvitis, the Latvian prime minister stressed.

"The group consists of three stable old economies and three of the fastest growing ones, all of which means we are able to exert greater influence than our numbers might suggest", Mr Persson added.

The meeting also included talks over the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which the three Baltic countries for a long time have demanded should be demilitarised.

Energy co-operation around the Baltic Sea was also up for discussion.

Without mentioning Russia explicitly, Mr Persson said that energy co-operation could not be based on just one single energy source or on supplies of energy from any single country.

As far as the planned oil pipeline from Russia to Germany is concerned, the Lithuanian prime minister, Algirdas Brazauskas, stressed that it should follow the coastline instead of the planned route straight through the Baltic Sea.

"That way Kaliningrad could be supplied with energy, and it would also benefit Lithuania", he said.