Secret memo demanded tougher stance over Russia

By David Cronin

Date: 12/02/04

THE tone of a statement made by the European Commission this week on EU-Russia relations was deliberately toughened up at the behest of its most senior officials, it has emerged.

An internal paper produced for David O'Sullivan, the institution's secretary-general, stated that the Commission's official stance should not be a "classical communication with normal diplomatic language".

Released by the Commission on Monday (9 February), the communication calls for objectives to be set ahead of EU-Russia summits, which "should draw "red lines" for the EU, positions beyond which the EU will not go".

The confidential Commission memo, seen by this paper, describes the previous summit - held in Rome last November - as a failure. On that occasion, Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi deviated from the agreed line by downplaying human rights abuses in Chechnya. He also offered to act as Vladimir Putin's "unrequested attorney" when the latter was quizzed about the arrest of Yukos oil boss Mikhail Khodorovsky,who had been supporting the president's political rivals.

The internal memo also records that O'Sullivan has urged Commission President Romano Prodi or Chris Patten, the external relations chief, to ensure EU foreign ministers are fully aware of the Commission's stance before they debate Russia at their 23-24 February meeting.

In a thinly veiled reference to the Khodorovsky affair, the Commission's communication points to "selective application of the law" by Russia and concerns over the build-up to December's parliamentary election, during which the pro-Putin United Russia was given greater media coverage than other parties.