Sir,

I found Bronislaw Geremek's article "Why Europe still lacks a Russia policy" of great interest for a number of reasons. First, it makes a very significant contribution to the debate on how best to replace the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement when it expires in 2007. But we will only be able to shape such a new strategic document if all EU member states can first agree on the sort of relations they want with Russia in the coming 10-15 years. My own impression is that we in the eastern parts of the EU attach much more importance to relations with Russia than do the rest of the member states. My question is therefore - is any new treatment of the issue possible?

 

Sorrowfully, I found myself agreeing with most of the points made by Bronislaw Geremek. The EU has not yet been able to find the right model of cooperation with Russia. It is also true that the roots of the problem lie with Russian domestic policy and issues like democracy and human rights that EU democracies find so important. Having a market economy is only one of the factors at play. As an aside, I should perhaps add that the Baltic region enjoys and benefits from relatively good EU-Russia relations; minor disputes are sparked from time to time, but there has also been a solid joint effort to settle these.

 

But the agreement between Russia and Germany on the construction of an underwater gas pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea raises important questions about whether economic ties are best established between Russia and the EU as a whole, or between Russia and individual EU members states. It is a much more complex question than it might seem at first glance.

 

Bronislaw Geremek highlights in his article an even more challenging question - that of values. The EU cannot have a consistent policy on Russia unless member states share a generally agreed evaluation of Russia's internal processes. EU countries seem generally at a loss about how they should assess Russia's failure to settle the Chechen conflict, although it is perhaps more easy to understand now that the EU itself faces a real and growing threat of terrorism. Talk between the EU and Russia on visa facilitation is a welcome move, and the EU must not forget that a visa regime is directly related to the expansion of the Schengen area, an issue due to be finalised in the short run.

 

When it comes to the important area of EU-Russia economic relations, Europe's energy dependence is clearly a major factor. But does that mean that environmental standards can be neglected in some Russia-related projects? It is only a very short time ago that we the new member states covered the bumpy road of EU accession negotiations, so we see these things with particular clarity. Bronislaw Geremek is therefore quite right to point to the unpleasant cases of Estonian-Russian and Latvian-Russian disputed border agreements. Just as EU member states have been deeply concerned about security along the Spanish  Coastal border, so should the EU's external border with Russia also be our common concern.

 

I should add that I also fully support Mr. Geremek's statement that no individual  national approaches should be made in the area of EU-Russia relations as these bilateral initiatives cannot ultimately lead anywhere. A new strategy for relations between the EU and Russia should rest on the enforcement of the reciprocity principle, with partners being the EU and Russia rather than individual EU member states and Russia.