Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is coming to Brussels next week (7 December) to discuss "strategy" with EU leaders, including the country's aspirations to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). But a number of teething problems still remain on the agenda, judging from an internal EU document seen by EurActiv. Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the EU, said the summit would concentrate on "strategic things" such as the coordination of exit strategies from the economic crisis, climate change, positions regarding Iran's nuclear programme or the Middle East peace process.
The meeting, to be held on Tuesday (7 December), will see Medvedev meet European counterparts Herman Van Rompuy, the European Council president, and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. Towards an EU-Russia 'common market'. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday (1 December), Chizhov indicated that the Russian side was interested in discussing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's proposal for a "harmonious community of economies from Lisbon to Vladivostok". The proposal, made during Putin's visit to Germany on 25 November, was dubbed an EU-Russia "common market" by the press. Chizhov said the first step would be for Russia to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has been on the table for 16 years.
Then, Moscow and Brussels would sign a new EU-Russia basic treaty, replacing an antiquated Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1994. The third step, he said, was to start discussions about a free trade area.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had expressed doubt about establishing a free trade area with Russia, saying that the initiative was "not timely", since Moscow was putting in place a customs union with its ex-Soviet neighbours Belarus and Kazakhstan. But Chizhov said that Merkel had not rejected the idea, insisting that the creation of the customs union did not contradict WTO rules and that each of the three countries would pursue individual WTO bids. The Russian envoy gave assurances that a range of outstanding problems, such as the EU's green light for Russia's WTO accession, would be sorted out at expert level, even before the leaders had met.
