Russia 111215 Basic Political Developments

Medvedev visits Brussels for his last EU summit

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111215/170261577.html
11:41 15/12/2011

MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will take part in the last Russia-EU summit of his presidential career in Brussels on Thursday, amid growing condemnation in Europe of Russia’s alleged parliamentary vote rigging.

The summit begins on Thursday at 08.00 GMT and will be attended by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, the EU foreign affairs’ chief Catherine Ashton, the European Commission’s head, Jose Manuel Barroso and the energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger.

Medvedev, who will be accompanied by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Economic Minister Elvira Nabiullina, is expected to discuss steps toward visa-free travel with the EU as well as Russia’s possible bailout fund for Europe’s indebted economies.

The Russian delegation, however, does not expect potentially divisive issues such as European missile defense or the recent parliamentary elections in Russia to be addressed at the summit.

Medevedev’s visit to Brussels comes a day after the European parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution, calling for “new free and fair elections.”

In a statement published on the European parliament’s web site, the lawmakers urge “an immediate and full investigation of all reports of fraud and intimidation in the Russian elections” and welcome Russian protest rallies “as an expression of the will of the people.”

The Resolution stirred anger in Russia’s Public Chamber, which called the document “a provocation” since the lawmakers who passed the document “did not address real facts.”

“This document is an outrageous interference into Russia’s domestic affairs and is an attempt to destabilize a political situation in our country,” the Public Chamber’s members said in a statement.

The ruling United Russia party won almost half of the vote in the December 4 parliamentary elections, which secured it a simple majority in the State Duma with 238 seats out of 450.

The elections sparked waves of protest rallies across the country with tens of thousands people demanding a rerun of the election, accusing the ruling party of massive fraud and falsification of votes.

On Saturday opposition activists held the biggest rally in a decade in downtown Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square, which brought together from 25,000 to 100,000 people, according to different estimates.

Another 50,000-strong authorized protest is scheduled for December 24 at central Moscow's Sakharov Avenue.

December 15, 2011 09:13

EU, Russia to get closer to visa-free travel after Brussels summit - van Rompuy

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=2&id=295235
MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - The first step towards visa-free travel will be made at the EU-Russia summit in Brussels on December 15, European Council President Herman van Rompuy said.

At the summit we shall take concrete steps to increase the mobility of our citizens: we shall make the first step towards visa-free travel, the EU president was quoted as saying by the EU delegation to Russia on Wednesday.

It was reported earlier that the summit will approve the list of joint steps towards the transition to visa-free travel.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said the full implementation of these steps will lead to the beginning of talks on an agreement on visa abolition.

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06:04 15/12/2011ALL NEWS

Euro zone crisis, visa-free travel to dominate RF-EU summit in Brussels

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/297732.html

MOSCOW, December 15 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s position will be presented at the summit by President Dmitry Medvedev who arrived in the Belgian capital on Wednesday, December 14.

The EU delegation will be led by Presidential of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

“The meeting will be absolutely pragmatic in nature,” the Kremlin said. “By building up our cooperation we help increase stability in Europe. This is how we regard our interaction – as an additional contribution that helps all of us overcome existing financial difficulties.”

The leaders will also be invited to a roundtable discussion of European and Russian entrepreneurs. Medvedev is expected to speed and participate in discussions. At the end, entrepreneurs will present their recommendations that should facilitate trade relations. RUSNANO Head Anatoly Chubais has been invited to moderate the discussion.

Presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told journalists at a special briefing that a road map would be adopted at the summit in order to facilitate visa-free travel between Russia and the EU.

“A transition to visa-free travel for short-term trips will undoubtedly be one of the key topics at the summit. The Russian side believes that progress in this respect will facilitate cooperation on all aspects of relations between Russia and the EU,” the aide said.

Negotiators have drafted joint steps towards visa-free travel, which links it to migration flows and protection of human rights and basic freedoms as well as supremacy of law.

“We are very much concerned over migration flows in the EU. This wording was worked out together. We offered it. It would not have been adopted without Russia’s consent,” Prikhodko said.

The summiteers will also discuss the consequences of Russia’s accession to the WTO for further intensification of trade and economic relations between Russia and the EU, including negotiations on a new basic agreement, paying special attention to the implementation of the Partnership for Modernisation initiative designed to strengthen the innovation component of RF-EU business ties.

Moscow appreciates the EU’s support in the drawn-out talks on Russia’s accession to the WTO and understands its desire to make sure that a new basic agreement reflects a broader vision for trade and investment cooperation than the WTO rules allow.

“We understand their desire and work will continue,” the official said.

“One of the key topics for discussion is energy cooperation,” he said. “Russia is a time-tested supplier of energy resources to Europe. But apart from serious successes, such as the commissioning of the first stage of the Nord Stream pipeline in November, there are questions that require prompt joint attention. Both sides have the necessary dialogue mechanisms for resolving each other’s concerns.”

“As for interaction on pressing international issues, a great deal of attention will be paid to the financial and economic situation in the euro zone,” Prikhodko said. “EU countries are the biggest trade and investment partners of Russia. Trade turnover between Russia and the EU in the first nine months of this year had reached 286.4 billion U.S. dollars (an increase of 31.4 percent from the same period of 2010), export had amounted to 195.2 billion U.S. dollars (up 27.7 percent) and import 91.2 billion U.S. dollars (up 40 percent). The EU accounts for about 50 percent of Russia’s foreign trade. Russia is the third largest partner of the European Union after the United States and China,” he said.

The euro makes up 41 percent of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves. “In this connection, close coordination and joint development of measures are needed for preventing a new wave of a global financial and economic crisis, including in with due account for the results of the G-20 Summit in Cannes on October 3-4,” the aide said.

International topics to be raised at the summit include international security, the situation in Syria, Libya and the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear programme, Kosovo, the South Caucasus, and Transdniestria.

“Russia’s principled stance on conflict resolution is based on unconditional supremacy of international law and the central coordinating role of the U.N. and its Security Council,” Prikhodko said.

Russia-EU summits are held twice a year in order to review cooperation in the past period and determine priorities for the future.

The Russian delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Prikhodko and presidential aide Arklady Dvorkovich, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov, Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov, Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko who oversees relations with the EU, and Mark Entin, Director of the European Studies Institute at the MGIMO Moscow State Institute of International Relations.