Today's Date:

Visit to Moscow – Speech by Claudie Haigneré, Minister Delegate for European Affairs, to the MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations)

Moscow, April 8, 2005

EU/RUSSIA RELATIONS

(...) Relations between the European Union and Russia are undeniably of strategic importance to France and Europe, they form the major axis around which we can stabilize the continent politically and ensure its rapid economic expansion, they are also a key factor in the structuring of the whole spectrum of international relations in the twenty-first century.

We are now preparing to hold the 15th EU-Russia Summit in Moscow on 10 May, at a time when the terms and objectives of EU-Russia relations are no longer the same as they were ten years ago when the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) was signed:

- Since then, the European Union has seen two waves of enlargement, first to 15 then to 25, two institutional reforms, with the Treaty of Amsterdam, then that of Nice, and is preparing to give itself a Constitution.

- On her side, Russia has set in train an important reform process, has experienced robust economic growth over the past few years, and is pursuing her efforts to integrate into the major international fora, in particular the G8, where France actively supported her candidature.

- The world has seen some major upheavals: terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and Beslan, conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the emergence of new global players such as India and Brazil.

- Finally, the development of four common “spaces” is giving a new goal to our cooperation: an economic “space”, a common “space” of freedom, security and justice, a “space” of cooperation in the field of external security and a “space” of research and education including cultural aspects.

In this context, on what basis can we, Russians and Europeans, adapt and strengthen the instruments of our strategic partnership? To answer this question, we need to go back to the heart of what unites us and what the central objectives of this partnership have to be. In other words, we need to answer another question: why have a strategic partnership? Russia and the European Union must decide on a common programme covering both developments on the continent and the whole spectrum of international relations.

The continent’s political stabilization and economic development form the heart of the EU-Russia relationship. The 9 May commemorations are there to remind us of the price of peace and democracy on our continent. Our shared interests and interdependence which stem from our proximity can only grow in the coming years.

- Over 50% of Russia’s exports go to the European Union, a figure likely to rise with Bulgaria and Romania’s accession. The European Union itself imports 40% of its energy, with a significant proportion of this coming from Russia – one likely to increase markedly with the development of Russia’s energy infrastructure;

- The battle against terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking and organized crime necessitate heightened cooperation if we are to confront these scourges which affect both Russia and the European Union and ignore borders. Beyond the cooperation on the ground, the creation of a genuine area of freedom, security and justice means harmonizing standards on human rights and the rule of law.

- The continent’s stability won’t be achieved without increased cooperation between Russia and the European Union. The European Union and Russia are playing a leading role in the stabilization of the Western Balkans, particularly through their membership of the Contact Group and deployment of troops there. They have a shared responsibility in peacekeeping on the continent, particularly in dealing with both “acute” crises and “frozen” conflicts, which are a source of major destabilization for the continent. This responsibility can only increase with the announced reduction of the American contingents currently engaged in NATO operations in Europe.

The European Union and Russia are global players sharing the capacity and responsibility for promoting common causes beyond the continent. A number of common basic objectives can be identified in this respect.

WMD/IRAN

- The European Union and Russia are pursuing complementary approaches in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly in the case of Iran. Both the negotiations conducted by France, Germany and Britain, and the agreement concluded between Moscow and Tehran on the return to Russia of spent uranium are designed to forge civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran coupled with objective guarantees that that country does not possess a military nuclear capability.

MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

- The peace process in the Middle East is a constant on the agenda of the Euro-Russian dialogue on which we see very much eye to eye. For example, President Putin's recent visit to Paris saw the adoption of a joint declaration on Lebanon, reflecting the conclusions subsequently adopted by the European Council on 22 March.

CLIMATE WARMING/KYOTO PROTOCOL

- The fight against climate warming is one of our common goals. In this respect, the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol opens a new phase, with the possibility of financial and technological transfers in the framework of the mechanism for joint implementation and emission trading. The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol also opens the possibility of setting new targets for the post-2012 period.

MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS/UN

- Generally speaking, as global players, the European Union and Russia share the goal of modernizing and strengthening the multilateral organizations, with the UN the most important. This September's summit should provide the opportunity of improving the capacity of the UN system to address the challenges of development, security and human rights.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP CRITERIA

So across the cooperation structures, the strategic partnership must be flexible, but it must also constantly satisfy three general criteria: it must be balanced, substantive and global.

Why emphasize the need for relations to be balanced? Because that's the key to the efficiency of the cooperation and because, ever since the Congress of Vienna, Russia has been essential to the balance of the "European concert of nations".

TRADE/INVESTMENT

- Two-way trade and investment flows are basically in Russia's favour, and enlargement has not fundamentally changed this situation. The good economic results recorded by Russia are also allowing her progressively to reimburse her debt. However, a balanced growth in our trade presupposes pursuit of the reforms and establishment of a climate of stability, predictability and legal and political security.

ENERGY

- In the energy sphere, the obvious complementary nature of Russia's substantial resources and European exploration and exploitation capabilities offers the possibility of "win-win" situations, particularly in the form of production-sharing agreements. The Energy Dialogue, launched in Paris in 2000, and forthcoming quadripartite meeting of Energy Ministers (France, Germany, Spain and Russia) announced in Paris at the 18 March Summit should lead to concrete projects.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT/ESDP

- Balanced cooperation in crisis-management activities presupposes the European Union’s pursuit of its defence effort and establishment of the tools of a European Security and Defence policy in order to achieve what might be called "a sharing of the burden" between the European Union and Russia. The European Union has embarked on this path inter alia with the launch of Operation Althea deploying 7,000 men in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

INCREASING EU-RUSSIA COOPERATION/ITER/AEROSPACE

What is most probably the toughest, but potentially the most promising challenge is to increase EU-Russia cooperation. With two constantly changing players, what can be done to prevent each focussing solely on its internal dynamic? An initial answer is to concentrate cooperation efforts on ventures in key sectors.

- I have already mentioned energy. The essential nature of this sector for the whole relationship has become a sort of commonplace in the EU-Russia relationship. And yet the financial and human means deployed to increase cooperation in it haven't yet been equal to the task. The European Union also wishes Russia to be a partner in the ITER project, whose implementation is scheduled to begin on the Cadarache site in the next few months.

- Second key area, cooperation in the aerospace sector. We must work to achieve the compatibility and complementarity of Galileo and Glonass and create a genuinely open airspace, particularly by resolving the issue of Siberian overflight rights. New important milestones have been reached in the space sector with the signature of an agreement on launching Soyuz rockets from the Kourou launch pad and an agreement on the development of a future launcher to take over from the heavy Ariane 5 ECA launcher.

COMMON AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE/VISAS

- The common area of freedom, security and justice must achieve the difficult balance of creating an area where Russians and Europeans feel safe while able to move around without unnecessary barriers and artificial constraints. In this context, the negotiations on the facilitation of visas is an essential matter of direct concern to European Union and Russian citizens. We hope that the Moscow summit will be the opportunity to finalize these negotiations between Russia and the European Union countries. But this must be only one stage on the path to achieving much easier movement for citizens. I won't hide from you the fact that for both sides realization of this long-term goal will necessitate major changes to both visa requirements and constraints on registration.

SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION

- Finally, scientific cooperation can take advantage of all the possible synergies between our research capabilities. You aren't unaware of the importance I attach to scientific issues. In this respect, cooperation in the framework of the Moscow International Centre for Science and Technology is a real success which must be built on by encouraging student and researcher mobility. Russia, who has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research, can contribute a great deal to European research, and vice versa. The fact that Russia has rejoined the Bologna Process is an important step for the development of exchanges and, above all, excellent news for you students, who will find it easier to go to a European university to complete or diversify your training. At a time when the European Union is giving a new boost to the research effort, it's important fully to involve Russia in European ambitions with respect to innovation and competitiveness.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP/GLOBAL PEACE/SECURITY/PPC/ESDP

The European Union – some of whose member States sit on the Security Council – and Russia have a special responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the world. How can we achieve a strategic partnership taking account of the dimension of the global players, the European Union and Russia?

- The first answer is to develop the ad hoc formats for dialogue and cooperation such as the "Quartet" for the Middle East, "Contact Group" for the Western Balkans and Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

- Concurrently, we need to develop the European Union and Russia's own fora for regular consultations on political and security issues, such as the Permanent Partnership Council, and decide on the terms and conditions for operational cooperation in the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy;

RUSSIA/OECD/WTO

- Finally, we need to ensure both partners’ full participation in all the multilateral fora: the European Union is supporting Russia's progressive integration into OECD structures, and in May 2004 it concluded a bilateral agreement on Russia's accession to the WTO, which we hope can take place at the Hong Kong ministerial meeting at the end of the year. For its part, the European Union participates in all the multilateral organizations either directly, as in the WTO, or through its members, but it has to aim for a higher profile, particularly in the UN.

10 MAY EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT/FRANCE

A balanced, substantive, global relationship. This is what we’ll be working for at the forthcoming EU-Russia summit on 10 May in Moscow, where, I hope, we shall be able to adopt the action plans on the European Union and Russia's four common “spaces”.

France will go on being at the forefront of the development of the EU-Russia relationship, by launching model bilateral cooperation projects and acting as a catalyst inside the European Union. In this way, France played a role of facilitator for the issue of the transit of people coming from and going to Kaliningrad, and was at the origin of the idea of common "spaces".

So we are only at the beginning of the task of building a strategic partnership. To paraphrase Robert Schuman – on 9 May we shall also be celebrating his declaration which was a founding act of today's European Union – we can say that the EU-Russia strategic partnership "will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan; it will be built through concrete achievements that first create a de facto solidarity". This progress will, I am certain, bring inestimable advances to Russians and Europeans. You, MGIMO students, are the future players in this adventure./.