Barroso ontmoet Poetin in Moskou voor besprekingen over toekomst wederzijdse betrekkingen (en)

European Commission President Jose Barroso i will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday (17 March) in Moscow for a broad discussion on global issues and future EU-Russia relations. The meeting takes place ahead of the forthcoming G8 Summit in St. Petersburg and in view of the need to frame the post-2007 relationship (the current EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation agreement expires in 2007).

A key element of the talks will be a discussion on energy security, one of the priorities of the Russian G8 Presidency and also a topic of the European Council, March 23-24, where EU heads of state are due to discuss the Commission's Energy Green Paper.

Speaking before the meeting, President Barroso said: "Russia and the European Union are already strong partners in international affairs. The existing EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement reaches the end of its initial ten-year period in 2007. Now is the time, therefore, to rethink the future shape of EU-Russia relations and to explore all the options for a closer and more effective co-operation. At the heart of our relations will be a new energy partnership with Russia. We want to work with Russia on energy security in a positive and constructive way. Europe and Russia are energy interdependent, and the message that I will take to Moscow is that on energy, as in many other areas where we have common interests, we must maximise our co-operation."

The bilateral meeting between European Commission President Barroso and Russian President Putin will take place in Moscow, over dinner, on Friday 17 March.