Criticism of the EU-Russia summit

According to the Estonian daily last Friday's EU-Russia summit in Mafra, Portugal, was a sorry affair. "Even before the summit many EU politicians well-versed in foreign policy had warned that there could be no breakthrough before Russia's parliamentary elections in December. Portugal [which currently holds the rotating EU presidency] ignored these warnings and even rejected an initiative headed by EU parliamentarians aimed at passing a resolution condemning Russia for human rights abuses. The EU adopted an extremely reserved stance on Friday and steered clear of all conflict. ... To avoid a repeat of this summit the EU must learn to play by the same rules as the Kremlin. Estonia and a few other countries already know these rules."

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