EU-Russia Summit in Mafra

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--European and Russian leaders will meet tomorrow (October 26) in Mafra, Portugal, for the 20th EU-Russia Summit. Topics on the agenda are the steady expansion in co-operation under the four common spaces (the common economic space, the common space of freedom and justice, the common space of external security, and the common space of research and education), developments in the EU and Russia, and other international and regional issues, including Kosovo.

"We are making progress in expanding our relationship across a whole range of areas," said Commission President José Manuel Barroso speaking ahead of the Summit. "Our economic ties are increasing and the Russian Federation is already our third trade partner. There are of course unsettled issues but we address them through a regular and open political dialogue."

External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner added: "In the current situation it is important that we bear in mind our longer-term interests and the considerable potential of EU-Russia relations. We are not only neighbours with a long common history, but we implement on a daily basis the Common Spaces and its road maps."

In the margins of the EU-Russia Summit, leaders will sign an agreement on the further expansion of trade in steel and steel products. The Summit will also cover the recently launched EU-Russia investment dialogue, and the joint initiatives to tackle the problem of delays at border crossings.

Discussions on energy will include the regular report of the EU-Russia energy dialogue and the development of an early warning mechanism to signal potential supply difficulties.

With the visa facilitation and readmission agreements in force since June 1, 2007, leaders will review progress in the visa dialogue, where experts discuss the conditions required for the long-term goal of a visa-free regime between the EU and Russia.

In the campaign against drugs, a Memorandum of Understanding between the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction and the Russian Federal Drugs Control Service will establish the exchange of information and technical expertise on the use of illegal drugs. Heroin abuse is a growing problem in Russia, and it is estimated that a third of Afghan opium is trafficked through Russia to the EU.

The European Union will be represented by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese Prime Minister and head of the Portuguese EU-Presidency José Socrates, External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, and EU High Representative Javier Solana. The Russian delegation will be headed by President Vladimir Putin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Trade and Economy Elvira Nabiullina and Minister for Energy and Industry Viktor Khristenko.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics/Russia.htm