Difficult negotiations with Russia

Hiski Haukkala of the Finnish Institute for Foreign Policy expresses the view that Russia and the EU face a difficult round of negotiations for a new partnership agreement. "The European Union has become the subject of smirks in Moscow. ... The general perception of the situation seems to be that the negotiations will be long and hard. ... The main problem between the EU and Russia at the moment appears to be mutual distrust and different ideas about the future. ... The faith in a far-reaching partnership has been lost ... and there is no sign of a new surge to replace it. There is a danger that the relationship could be shattered by political crises and the time factor. ... This is also reflected in the range of topics for a future agreement. They mainly revolve around the security of energy supplies and market access. ... Naturally, these are important issues, but they are not an adequate basis for lifting the relations between Russia and the EU to a new level."

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Energy, » Trade, » Russia, » Europe

» To the complete press review of Thursday, June 26, 2008