FOREWORD—WHAT THIS
REPORT IS ABOUT
FOREWORD—What this Report is about
The relationship between the European Union and Russia has been going through a difficult phase with disputes over energy supplies, foreign policy issues, and tension between Russia and individual Member States. The change of presidency in Russia provides an opportunity to take stock and to consider whether this deterioration can and should be reversed. Russian politicians emphasise the importance of the relationship. This report discusses how the relationship might be developed in practice, while avoiding the unrealistic expectations which bedevilled European policy towards Russia in the early years after the end of the Cold War.
We look at recent history: the traumatic events which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, which help to explain Russia's present domestic, economic, and foreign policies. We examine Russia's claim to be a "European" country, but argue that this is of less practical importance than the fact that Russia is Europe's largest and closest neighbour, and that the two are tied by extensive and very substantial shared interests.
We then examine the institutional arrangements which both side have built up for managing the relationship, and the agreements through which they implement their cooperation. Negotiations to replace the most substantial, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, are expected to begin this year, and in this context the subject of democracy and human rights will be a challenge.
We also examine Russia's still growing interest in a range of international multilateral agreements (G8, WTO, OECD). We conclude that it is in the European Union's interest to sustain and strengthen these links.
Russia is Europe's largest single supplier of gas and a major supplier of oil. Some European Union Member States are heavily or wholly dependent on Russian gas. We examine the obvious political, economic and commercial problems that arise. Russians whom we met made clear that they are unwilling to accept some of the legal and other constraints which are contained in existing documents, such as the Transit Protocol of the Energy Charter Treaty, which Russia is unlikely to ratify. We believe that the problems faced in this area by the European Union can be mitigated if the European Union adopts the right common policies.
The European Union and Russia come into contact with one another not only over bilateral matters, but also over issues involving third countries. The European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy is intended to expand links with neighbouring countries that are not members, and encourage them to bring their economic and political systems more closely into line with those of the EU's members. The Policy covers countries in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus which were formerly in the Soviet Union and with which Russia still has many close ties. These ties give the Russians no right of veto over those countries' policies, or over their aspirations for a closer relationship with the European Union including—for example for Ukraine—eventual membership. We believe that potential frictions can be better managed if the Union consults with Russia over all aspects of the European Neighbourhood Policy.
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) involves the European Union in discussion with the Russians on a number of international issues. Meanwhile there has been substantial cooperation in areas, such as Iran, where there is an identifiable common interest; less so where this is not the case, such as Kosovo. The two sides work together usefully on the Middle East, terrorism, non-proliferation, and other issues. We believe that the European Union should continue and strengthen its efforts to reach common ground with the Russians on such international issues without, of course, compromising the interests of the European Union or its members.
Many people in Europe hold that the European Union has the right and the duty to speak out against abuses of democratic values in today's Russia. Some Russian interlocutors found these interventions unacceptable, and questioned the moral basis on which they were made. Some Russians believe however, that outside support, judiciously expressed, does make a positive difference. Our own view is that although the European Union has no choice but to deal with Russia as it currently is, the issue of values is of fundamental importance. The European Union must therefore speak out from time to time if the Russian government falls short of the standards it has formally accepted in a number of international agreements.
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