MOSCOW, November 15 (RIA Novosti) New EU members seek revenge on Moscow for past injustices - expert /Bashkiria criticizes new draft agreement between Moscow and Kazan /CIS leads the world in GDP growth /Russia suspected of 'gas OPEC' plans/Surgutneftegaz sacrifices profit to employees' welfare
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Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Vremya Novostei
New EU members seek revenge on Moscow for past injustices - expert
What has motivated Poland to veto the European Commission's mandate to negotiate a new basic agreement with Russia? Experts give their answers.
Alexander Rahr, a Russia-watcher with the German Council of Foreign Policy: "The main reason for Warsaw's demarche is the Polish desire to demonstrate its own stance with regard to Russia inside the European Union. The most dangerous thing about it is that unless the cooperation and partnership agreement is extended, the EU and Russia will have to write it from the ground up. This means that every EU country's parliament will have to ratify it, and the process may stretch out for years.
"As the European Union has enlarged, its member-countries have increasingly clashed in their views on the Russia factor. The older members, such as Germany and France, favor a strategic approach toward building relations with Russia. But some other members that have a distinct history of relations with Russia consider themselves victims of Soviet occupation. And now they want to avenge themselves on Moscow for its mistreatment.
"The main aim of Eastern Europe is to isolate Russia, to push it further East into China's embrace, to give up Russian-European cooperation. Poland now wants to renounce the energy alliance. Warsaw believes that the EU can halt the construction of the Baltic gas transportation route, agreed to by Russia and Germany.
"Russia is lining up a sufficiently correct and the only advantageous policy towards the European Union. Vladimir Putin talks less and less with the EU as a whole, focusing on bilateral dialogue with countries that are prepared to cooperate closely with Russia - Germany, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
"For further success, the Russian president might be well advised to extend a cooperative hand to the Baltic Republics. And at least to visit them for once, to strengthen Russian positions there and win more trust."
Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's permanent envoy to the EU: "It's not blackmail against Russia, it is rather blackmail against the other 24 EU members. We see no cause or grounds to undertake any initiatives. It is for the European Union to sort things out with one of its members.
"After expanding in 2004, the European Union became a more difficult partner. But it has never been an easy partner at any time or for anyone - Russia, the United States, China, Japan or other countries. Unfortunately, some new members have joined the union with their domestic problems and 'phantom pains' - lingering grievances and resentments dating from the Soviet era or the Russian Empire of the 19th century."
Kommersant
Bashkiria criticizes new draft agreement between Moscow and Kazan
Bashkortostan, a republic in the Volga Region, reacted sharply to a draft agreement on the delimitation of powers between Moscow and Kazan, submitted last week by President Vladimir Putin to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
The movement For a Federative Russia, established Tuesday in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, will press for a similar agreement between that republic and Moscow.
On Tuesday, Oleg Polstovalov, chairman of the new movement's Coordinating Council, said he and his colleagues were worried that Chinese provinces had greater powers than Russian regions.
He said representatives of other national republics that want to modify their relations with Moscow could join the movement.
Polstovalov said inter-budgetary relations had to be modified, because Bashkortostan, a traditional donor territory, has been posting a budget deficit for the last three years, because its federal budget deductions are set to increase from 30% in 2000 to 67% next year.
President Murtaza Rakhimov of Bashkortostan said the overly emotional public reaction was predictable, and he opposed all-out protests. He said republican authorities are still drafting a similar agreement.
However, the republican administration said the agreement is unlikely to be signed.
Murat Zyazikov, president of the republic of Ingushetia, said Russian territories do not need any special status. He said the Kremlin should heed regional particularities and the potential of different territories, and should implement an adequate regional policy on that basis.
Kaluga Region Governor Anatoly Artamonov said that all republics, regions and territories should have the same relationship with the Kremlin.
"We must vigorously oppose talk of granting anyone special status, because this reeks of separatism," he told the paper.
Sergei Katanandov, president of the Republic of Karelia, said a balanced regional budget is essential.
"We will conclude a similar agreement after getting rid of federal subsidies," he said.
Krasnoyarsk Territory Governor Alexander Khloponin said any agreement on the delimitation of powers must focus on regional economic development, because it would otherwise prove useless.
Biznes
CIS leads the world in GDP growth
Annual GDP growth among member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2006 has been estimated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) at 6.9%.
The post-Soviet alliance has the highest rate of economic development among international regional organizations. Experts point out that the economic growth of Russia's neighbors has been supported by private capital made in Russia and spent in CIS countries.
For comparison, economic growth in Southeast Europe is forecast at 5.9%, and in Eastern Europe and the Baltic Region at 5.3%. The CIS is also ahead of the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) countries (United States, Canada and Mexico).
EBRD estimates Russia's economic growth in 2006 at 6.5%. The annual rise in Azerbaijan's GDP is estimated at 26%. "Such growth is due to the low base effect," said Olga Belenkaya, an analyst with Finam brokerage.
"Even one plant built in an industrially undeveloped country can visibly push up its economic indicators," said Agvan Mikaelyan, deputy general director of Finexpertiza.
It would be more correct to compare qualitative indices, for example, per capita GDP. In Eastern and Central Europe it is $10,000, compared to $1,684 in CIS countries, said Peter Westin, chief economist at Moscow-based MDM-Bank.
Economic growth in Russia, said the EBRD report, has been due to a consumer boom and rising foreign investment. The next objective is to diversify the economy, which will reduce Russia's dependence on raw materials exports, EBRD said.
Mikaelyan sees sources of the present economic development of energy-poor CIS countries (Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine) as being growing private consumption and money transfers.
"These countries have nearly all their able-bodied population working in Russia. They are not only manual workers, but also businessmen. And Russian growth automatically translates into money, which earners transfer to their countries and spend it there," the expert said.
Georgia consumes, according to different estimates, $2-4 billion brought in from Russia, Moldova $1-1.5 billion, Armenia and Ukraine $1-2 billion each.
"Hence the growth of consumption in those countries. Our economies are integrated through working hands. It is Russia's economic growth that is behind economic growth in some CIS countries," Mikaelyan said.
Izvestia
Russia suspected of 'gas OPEC' plans
NATO economic analysts have released a classified warning to Europe that Russia is establishing a 'gas OPEC' with Algeria, Iran, Libya and Central Asia.
The Middle East, Russia and former Soviet republics control 73% of global gas reserves. According to the International Energy Agency, the Middle East has about 41% of the world's gas reserves, and Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan control another 32%.
Experts describe the comparison to the traditional OPEC as conventional.
"Transportation is a priority with gas producing countries, while output quotas matter most to oil producers," said Valery Yazev, head of the energy, transport and communications committee at the lower house of Russia's parliament.
"There should be a constructive dialogue between the European cartel of gas consumers and a cartel of gas producing and transporting countries, and both parties should be equally responsible," he said.
He said Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Iran could join such a cartel.
"Those who believe that the 'gas OPEC' will finally help settle gas prices are wrong," said Mikhail Subbotin, head of SRP-Expertise.
"Prices may rise, but not for long, and the follow-on reaction on the market will be very painful to the organization itself," he said.
The 'oil OPEC' has seen more downs than ups, and can be called powerful only with some caveats. For example, the cartel has failed to persuade its members to lower oil supplies 4% to prevent prices from falling for two months already.
The NATO experts' report disappointed the Russian government.
"Such deals are mostly struck in despair," said Arkady Dvorkovich, head of the Expert Department with the Kremlin administration.
"I do not think it will happen, and if it will, it is likely to destabilize the market," he said.
However, Dvorkovich said similar organizations might be set up in the future.
"Establishing cartels is a possible, though not necessarily effective, scenario, unless all the largest gas producers take an interest in such deals," the Kremlin official said.
Vedomosti
Surgutneftegaz sacrifices profit to employees' welfare
Surgutneftegaz, a Siberian oil and gas producer, has suffered large expenses in efforts to meet its employees' demands.
The company spent 14.4 billion rubles ($540.34 million) on wages in the third quarter, which was twice as much as usual. Surgutneftegaz's employees admitted that they have received bonuses, and that their wages were raised 20% on October 1.
Surgutneftegaz has a staff of 87,386 people, meaning that every employee was paid 54,865 rubles ($2,059) on average. In the second quarter the company spent 7.7 billion rubles ($288.93 million) on its employees, against 7.5 billion rubles ($281.43 million) in the first quarter.
An employee said protests and rallies forced Surgutneftegaz managers to increase wages. Surgutneftegaz employees held numerous pickets last summer.
They also established an independent trade union, Profsvoboda, demanding that the secured part of their wages be increased to bridge the gap between the wages of employees at various levels. On one occasion around 1,500 people picketed the company's headquarters.
If Surgutneftegaz had not increased wages, its third-quarter net profit could have exceeded $1.1 billion, said Denis Borisov, an analyst with the Solid brokerage, which corresponds to extra $1 per barrel.
Surgutneftegaz could have caught up with LUKoil, another Russian oil company, which earns $9 from every barrel. Surgutneftegaz's third-quarter net profit fell 24% to 26.3 billion rubles ($986.87 million), though its revenue declined by just 1.7% to 123 billion rubles ($4.62 billion).
The latter figure fell due to an increase in the average export tariff and the weakening dollar.
Surgutneftegaz has managed to pacify its employees for a while, said Anna Chernykh, director of the Personnel Leasing department with the Ankor company. However, it is impossible to solve the problem financially, as employees must be motivated.
Last April Surgutneftegaz announced plans to introduce an option program, and has already started to buy shares on the exchange to encourage its employees.
Chernykh said options could motivate the management, while other methods should be applied to employees, including "comfortable workplaces and non-material rewards, such as family holidays."
