30 October EU-Russia summit

Date: 02/11/00

THE EU and Russia agreed to boost trade in energy products and to give Moscow a role in the Union's developing security and defence initiative at their summit in Paris. French President Jacques Chirac and Russia's Vladimir Putin also pledged to try to find a political solution to the conflict in the rebel region of Chechnya.

THE two sides also announced plans for a long-term strategic partnership to ensure energy supplies for the EU and avoid possible future fuel crises similar to those faced by industrialised nations this year. European Commission President Romano Prodi said a joint working group had been created to study ways to boost energy imports from Russia in return for increased Union investment in infrastructure. The working group will be headed by Commission director-general for energy François Lamoureux and Russian Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Viktor Khristenko. The “dialogue” will cover oil, gas and electricity. Putin said Russia would need two pipelines to increase gas exports to Europe, including one which would be routed through Poland.

SUMMITEERS also agreed to start discussions on how Moscow could contribute to the EU's planned 60,000-strong rapid reaction force being created to intervene in future regional crises. Russia is keen to participate in the Union's new security initiative and sees it as a way to boost its diplomatic and political influence, which has waned since the end of the Cold War.

PUTIN and Chirac issued a joint statement at the summit in which Russia promised to try to find a political solution to the situation in Chechnya. The two leaders said any settlement would have to respect Russian territorial integrity and they condemned all forms of terrorism. France has been one of the strongest critics of Russia's military campaign against rebel forces in the Caucasian region.