The recent postponement of a Russia-EU summit initially triggered all manner of debates as to what might have caused the move. These discussions then evolved into an analysis of the Russia-EU partnership. There is an opinion that no progress has been made on a whole number of declared objectives. As for strategic partnership, the sides will be able to establish it in the future, provided favorable conditions exist.
Many problems have piled up between Russia and the EU. Brussels has traditionally expressed concern over civil freedoms in Russia. Moscow is worried about freight transit to the Kaliningrad region, the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic and tougher visa restrictions with central and eastern European countries after EU enlargement. Neither side is happy with the other's activity in the CIS.
The Russia-EU joint statement made in Luxembourg this spring points to the need for an agreement with the EU on customs transit that would solve, in particular, the problem of Kaliningrad freight transit. Talks on this issue have not yet started.
The Russian side has repeatedly stated that the situation of the Russian-speaking "non-citizens" in two Baltic countries - Estonia and Latvia - does not correspond to European standards. Strictly speaking, the concept "non-citizen" does not exist in the Schengen legal base. The European Union states that human rights will always be on its agenda. However, it proposes that this particular problem be solved at the bilateral level and has not assumed any commitments with regard to the Russian-speaking population in the Baltics.
Russia recently signed agreements on simplifying visa requirements with Germany, France and Italy. Both houses of the Russian parliament have already ratified the first one. These agreements simplify visa procedures for some categories of citizens. Under them, the time needed to consider an application has been cut, while the visas themselves are valid for longer terms and consular duties have been partially abolished. However, these are bilateral successes, because views on these agreements differ across the EU.
The stumbling block in this case is the lack of an agreement between the sides on readmission, which must be adopted before the end of the year. It is not surprising that it has not yet been signed, as the border between Russia and Kazakhstan, that is basically the border with the whole of Central Asia, remains open. Apart from this, there is virtually no infrastructure for readmitting illegal migrants to Russia.
The sides have not created any real mechanisms for implementing the concept of "four common spaces," which was adopted 18 months ago in St. Petersburg. Work is underway on road maps that were to have been completed by the November summit. However, while drafting these maps, the EU expressed the opinion that three of them (with the exception of the economic one) were not ready and proposed that their approval be postponed until the next summit. As a result, a question arises: is the EU really interested in this subject?
When explaining the lack of tangible progress in Russia-EU relations, officials say that serious decisions cannot be made quickly. However, although Russia-EU relations have undoubtedly improved in the last four years, one still gets the impression that the implementation of some agreements is being stalled, while the sides' statements on strategic partnership are a far cry from reality.
Officially, the EU has always stated that Russia is a strategic partner with which Europe is linked by special relations. However, it included Russia in the New Neighborhood program, which encompasses a single plan for developing relations with the states bordering on the new, enlarged EU. This left Russia unimpressed. A Russian presidential aide, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, believes that Russia-EU relations are broader than this program.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that Russia and the EU do not have a clear understanding of the logic behind each other's actions and their internal contradictions. The differences in the partners' political and economic systems are becoming increasingly obvious. The West disapproves of the standards of democracy and market that are emerging in Russia. A particular type of the market economy that differs from that in Western Europe is forming in Russia. It displays a dynamic balance in relations between the state and major capital that has emerged as a result of the privatization process and the policies pursued by the country's current leaders.
Russia is unhappy about the EU demanding that Russia adopt its norms and rules, even though Russia does not intend to join the EU, no one is waiting for it there and its problems cannot be solved within this structure.
At the same time, Russia, perhaps, underestimates the internal complexity of the EU decision-making mechanism, which leaves it a far more difficult interlocutor than an individual state. In recent times, Moscow has increasingly favored developing bilateral dialogue with member countries (Germany, France, Italy) rather than with Brussels. Russia needs to learn to work with EU supranational structures, which play a considerable role within European integration processes.
The pause in Russia-EU relations can be explained by the fact that the EU has achieved some of its aims. Russia has signed a protocol on extending the Agreement on Partnership and Co-operation to the ten new EU members, while the talks on Russia's accession to the WTO have been completed, and Russia has ratified the Kyoto protocol.
May's enlargement has provided a serious challenge to the EU, which now has to tackle internal problems. Understandably, the European community's interest in developing political and economic relations with Russia has, therefore, waned to some extent. This also confirms the idea that there is a lack of long-term planning of strategic cooperation.
Whatever the case may be, Russia and the EU clearly need each other. The EU is Russia's biggest economic partner and closer relations with it are very important. Russia meets up to 75% of the EU's requirements for energy resources, and EU countries currently account for about 90% of Russia's main export item: energy carriers.
Accordingly, the sides will have to make more painstaking efforts to develop long-term, multilateral relations with each other. They must realize what really unites them and in which spheres integration is possible. Then they must work to achieve practical goals.
