President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and the Commissioner for Trade, Baroness Catherine Ashton, will represent the European Commission at the EU-Russia Summit, held in Khabarovsk, Russia between May 21st and 22nd 2009. The Summit is an opportunity for the EU and Russia to discuss how best to coordinate responses to the financial and economic crisis, as well as issues on climate change and energy security. Efforts to promote greater stability in the common neighbourhood and in Europe more generally will also be in the agenda.

This EU-Russia Summit provides an opportunity to discuss, at the highest level, EU-Russian cooperation against the backdrop of the global financial and economic crisis. The energy partnership, including European energy security, will also be at stake.

The Summit is also an occasion to review ongoing co-operation under the EU-Russia common spaces. Furthermore, the Summit will take stock of the progress made in the discussions on the New Agreement after the four rounds of negotiations that have been held since the talks were launched last June.

One of the major issues on the agenda, at stake at the plenary session, are the responses to the global financial and economic crisis and to a review of co-operation under the common spaces. The interdependence between the EU and Russian economies makes a powerful argument to step up efforts to co-ordinate responses to the crisis, but also to look for ways to further expand the trade and economic relationship. The EU continues to support Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), but has voiced its concerns about some of the measures that the Russian Government has introduced in response to the crisis.

Energy continues to dominate economic and trading relations between the EU and Russia, and the Summit is an occasion to look at practical ways of dealing with crises in supply such as that experienced in January, by means of an expanded Early Warning Mechanism. Leaders are also expected to welcome progress in the implementation of the EU-Russia common spaces - a dialogue on public health has been launched, negotiations are beginning on an agreement on drug precursors, and the Science and Technology Agreement is being renewed.

For the longer-term the EU and Russia started on 2008 Summit the negotiations on a New Agreement to replace the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which should set out reinforced legally-binding provisions for the whole range of EU/Russia relations; in the field of energy it should be based on a relationship of interdependence and mutual benefits, enshrining the principles of the Energy Charter Treaty. The Summit is an opportunity to take stock of the progress made on the New Agreement negotiations.

EU-Russia relations

The EU is by far the largest export market for Russia, while Russia is the EU’s third biggest trade partner, with Russian supplies of oil and gas making up a large percentage of Russia’s exports to Europe. The EU and Russia concluded a Partnership and Co-operation Agreement in 1994. The June 2008 EU-Russia Summit saw the launch of negotiations on a new EU-Russia agreement. The negotiations were put on hold following the Russia/Georgia conflict, and were resumed following a review by the EU of its relations with Russia.