EU disunity plays into Putin’s hands

The death of Alexander Litvinenko in London last week may have caught the headlines but there was no shortage of poisonous problems in Helsinki either, at last week’s EU-Russia summit (24 November).

Although he faced public scrutiny over Litvinenko’s death, behind closed doors Russian President Vladimir Putin was not the one under an awkward spotlight. Ironically, it was focused on the European side of the table, after the EU member states failed to agree a common mandate in advance of the meeting, with Poland wielding a veto to block the start of talks on a new Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) with Russia.

The European side failed to dissuade the Polish government from linking the ongoing row over customs controls on Polish meat exports to Russia, with the mandate to launch negotiations on the PCA.

The Russians were happy with this, with Vassily Likhachev, the deputy head of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council, making it clear his side did not need to give an inch when the EU was so disunited. As a foretaste of what was to come in Helsinki he snorted with derision at the notion of bringing in the European Commission to help resolve the bilateral dispute between Poland and Russia.

Putin took up the same tone at the summit table. Although a little more subdued than usual, he was as always, well briefed, articulate and a ferocious negotiator seizing on his opposition’s weakness to strengthen his own hand. Perhaps the EU team should have watched his recent three-hour live TV call-in show, where he took 58 questions from members of the public on every conceivable topic. The event may have been stage-managed, but Putin demonstrated just how self-assured he can be on a vast array of issues for hours on end.

Naturally, he spotted the weaknesses in the European position and preyed on them relentlessly. He knew that whatever kind of united public front the EU team was managing to present, the Finnish presidency and most member states were furious with the Poles. Some officials even muttered that the Russians had a point when they criticised Poland’s customs paperwork and its slow pace in implementing improvements to its administration. German officials voiced their anger in the media, complaining about Poland’s stance.

The issue of corruption was once again under discussion at the summit and as could be expected, Putin hit back hard, claiming that there were hundreds of organised crime killings in the EU every year. At this stage, he had his lines well rehearsed, so that any time the treatment of minorities in Russia was mentioned, he raised the treatment of Russians in Latvia.

There was one small success to sell - the issue of Siberian overflights has finally been resolved. Under the deal, EU airlines wishing to fly over Siberia must continue to pay a levy which goes indirectly to Aeroflot. But the charge will be phased out from 2010.

EU?airlines operating routes to China and the far-east reckon that the charges cost them around €300 million extra a year.

But there is still plenty on the agenda to worsen relations in the near future. Not least is the looming Russian threat to ban all EU meat imports unless concerns about incoming member states Romania and Bulgaria are clarified.

Looking at Russia’s recent track record when it comes to international disputes, whether gas supplies to Ukraine or wine from Georgia, it is likely to become a much bigger issue before it goes away - probably around 5 January after it has hit the headlines that EU exports worth nearly €2 billion have been blocked and European farm groups panic.

Fresh from Russia’s triumphant deal with the US to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO), Putin will also be counting on wholehearted EU support for his country’s membership in the coming six months, now that the Siberian issue is resolved.

But a few new EU member states may rally behind Georgia, as it threatens to veto Russia’s entry as the 151st member of the global trade body.

Some, like Poland, may feel it is time to use their new-found powers to humiliate the former imperial overlords.

There are up to six separate issues, including the meat export row, that could cause problems for Russia securing full European support at the WTO, European Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, warned following the summit.

"Issues like this will affect the attitude of member states toward signing off on accession," Mandelson said in a newspaper interview. "This is not the only trade irritant between us and Russia - there are at least half a dozen - and this latest ban is bound to affect the attitude of member states," he said.

The German government will wish to use its six months at the helm of the EU to strengthen its vital economic interests with Russia, ranging from cars to gas.

But with world trade, energy, meat sales and human rights questions on the table there will not be an easy photo opportunity for the coming six months either.

• Conor Sweeney is a freelance journalist based in Moscow.

The death of Alexander Litvinenko in London last week may have caught the headlines but there was no shortage of poisonous problems in Helsinki either, at last week’s EU-Russia summit (24 November).