European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Tuesday the partnership between the European Union and Russia is "challenging", "but one of the most important of our times."
Ferrero-Waldner made the speech during a plenary debate of the European Parliament on EU-Russia relations in Strasbourg, France.
"On the one hand we see a complex web of joint activities, and interwoven interests. On the other we see the backdrop of events in Georgia," she said, branding the EU's relationship with Russia as "one of the most challenging of our times."
Ferrero-Waldner is responsible in the commission, the executive arm of the EU, for a full review of EU-Russia relations in the request of the recent EU summit in the context of a war between Russia and Georgia in August over Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.
She repeated the EU's stance of opposing to Russia's recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"Yet at the same time, economic and trade relations between the EU and Russia are strong and getting stronger," said the commissioner.
Saying that with its recent high growth rates and emerging middle class, Russia, the EU's third most important trading partner "is an important emerging market right on our doorstep that offers opportunities for EU businesses, notwithstanding the effects of the present financial crisis."
Apart from energy, "there is impressive growth in services too" in Russia, she added.
The EU, a major investor in Russia, has accounted for 80 percent of cumulative foreign investment, she noted, saying that a significant share of Russian foreign reserves are in euro, making Russia one of the largest holders of euro-denominated assets in the world.
For all these reasons, the EU had a stake in the continuing growth of the Russian economy, she said.
She described the security of energy supply and demand as "a key component of our relationship", saying EU member states "are major buyers of Russian energy products and this is unlikely to change in the short to medium term."
"Even more importantly, Russia is a key geopolitical actor, whose constructive involvement in international affairs is a necessary precondition for an effective international community," the official pointed out, citing engagement on Iran, the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Balkans and elsewhere.
She mentioned EU-Russia "common interest" in pursuing the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and cooperation in fighting terrorism and organized crime.
"In all these areas cooperation is not always easy, but we need to continue," she told the members of the parliament.
Concerning Russia and Georgia, Ferrero-Waldner said "The European Council has noted with satisfaction that Russian troops have withdrawn from the zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia as an essential step to implementing the six point plan."
"Talks in Geneva were launched last week, and this was another important step forward."
She said the review of EU-Russia relations would present a comprehensive overview of the many strands of the relationship "from our efforts to support Russia's accession to the WTO to visa facilitation, customs cooperation, educational exchanges and cooperation in scientific research."
The commissioner hoped that EU foreign ministers would at their Nov. 10 meeting find the right understanding on pursuing negotiations for the New EU-Russia Agreement, which she said was the best way "to pursue our own interests, and make our concerns listened to."
The EU remain divided on whether to resume negotiations with Russia on the cooperation and partnership agreement.
France, Germany, Italy and some other EU members have pushed for early relaunch of talks, but Britain, Poland, Sweden and the Baltic nations opposed any hasty moves, calling for "audit" of the EU-Russia relations.
Source:Xinhua
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