European Union-Russian Federation Summit Meeting concluded

On 18 November in Stockholm, Sweden, the first summit meeting of the European Union and the Russian Federation took place with the aim of discussing the EU-Russian co-operation within Four Spaces (economy; freedoms, domestic security and the judiciary; external security; science, education and culture), as well as the results of consultations on the new co-operation agreement.

Latvia, as Russia's neighbour, saw a particular significance in the signing, as part of the summit, of the Financing Agreement covering five EU-Russia cross-border co-operation programmes, including the Estonia-Latvia-Russia Programme. The agreement will provide opportunities for implementing various co-operation projects between border regions of Estonia, Latvia and Russia, thus facilitating both the social and economic development of those regions, and promoting contacts between border area residents in culture, education and other fields.

The EU-Russia dialogue and high level meetings help to enhance trust and foreseeability in the EU-Russian relations, as well as to take measures for stronger co-operation in future. The EU and Russia are linked not only by economic contacts: democracy, human rights and the rule of law also play a major role in the shaping of relations.

The issues of the EU-Russia trade are also of importance for Latvia, including antiprotectionist measures and Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation. It is also significant that the Summit discussed the topics of sustainable energy and energy security, as well as gave a positive estimation to signing the Memorandum on Early Response in the energy sector, as part of the EU-Russia energy dialogue.

During the discussions, the EU and Russian leaders considered also other co-operation aspects related to current developments in international relations, with a special focus on climate change, as part of preparing for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December. Within the field of external security, the parties also debated the situation in South Caucasus, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Taking part in the Summit on the EU side were: Fredrik Reinfeldt, Prime Minister of Sweden, the country currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union; Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union; José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission; Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Affairs and Neighbourhood Policy; Catherine Ashton, Commissioner for Trade. Russia was represented in the Summit by President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov.

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