The meeting is designed for discussion of four Russia-EU common spaces and coordination of the EU-Russia Summit to be held in Moscow May 10.
The perspectives of Russia's relations with the EU, taking into consideration what has been called "the 2007 factor", when the new EU constitution comes into force, the Russia-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement's initial term will expire and Russia will enter the WTO.
"In these conditions, it is important to prevent the occurrence of a vacuum in our relations and adequately adapt the existing cooperation mechanisms," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said.
The European Union will be represented by Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, European Communities' Commission member Benita Ferrero-Waldner and EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana.
The Cooperation Council at the level of foreign ministers was formerly responsible for coordinating cooperation between Russia and the EU and had the right to adopt decisions, obligatory for both sides. However, it was decided at the EU-Russia Summit in St. Petersburg in May 2003 to reorganize the Council into the Permanent Partnership Council.
"Its sessions meet in the format of not only foreign ministers, but also ministers supervising other branches of the national economy," Yakovenko said.
