TAKING RUSSIA AS IT IS

Is cooperation with Russia a means to an end??? What does Europe wants and needs from Russia???

At the outset, there is an interdependency between Europe and Russia. The EU is Russia's third largest trading partner after the U.S. and China. The investment figures are impressive. EU member states account for 80% of foreign investments in Russia and 80 % of Russia's own investment abroad are in EU countries. Energy interdependence continues to be pivotal to economic relations between the EU and Russia. More than 60% of Russia's total oil and gas exports are earmarked for the EU and 25% of EU oil imports and 40% of EU gas imports come from Russia. Russia furnishes 35% of the uranium for the EU nuclear energy production. In 2015 the supply of Russian gas to European customers will reach a minimum of 180 billion cubic meters. The share of Gazprom on the markets of Europe will then be up to 33%.

The EU should work with Russia on a pragmatic basis, taking the country as it is rather than wishing to see it transformed. The future of Russia and Europe are definitely linked. Relations must be built with a long term perspective in mind, based on clear principles and respect for each others' interests. There is no reason for stirring up past phobias.

It serves the relationship no practical purpose to talk constantly about the Kremlin's failure to tackle corruption, modernize its economy, encourage investments and reform its bureaucracy. Today Russia is a market economy and even its state sector is highly commercialized. Russia is no longer the Soviet Union.

It is simply not true that Russia rejects Western liberal values, but it should be understood that a genuine transformation to Western like democracy will take longer than expected. Regardless what may be said, the Russian state has been strengthened, order has been established in the country. The majority of the Russians feel safe, living standards have increased. Private ownership has been legalized for the first time in 100 years. Millions of Russians travel around the world and feel proud again on being Russian.

Although Russia extends to the Pacific Ocean, it has strong cultural, historical and religious links with Europe. Europe shouldn't close doors with Russia but open them. The EU needs to enforce the quality of information brought by the media in order to limit the existence of prejudices and ignorance among Europeans. The political rhetoric stating that Russia uses gas as a 'geopolitical weapon' is very popular in the EU though the facts tell the contrary. European countries are clients of Russia's Gazprom. Many of them have neutral relations with Russia while some have a history of political tensions and even a complete breach of diplomatic ties with Moscow. For certain much work is required to wipe away prejudices and correct false information and this is the reason for starting this blog.

Russia and the EU should seek common grounds. Both sides can benefit from exchanging insight. Russia is changing before our eyes and these changes offer new mechanisms for fruitful interaction with the EU.

For Russia the EU is a difficult and confusing partner to negotiate with. More attention needs to be put on improving communications between Russia and the EU. They are essential in influencing images and attitudes and they also create a basis for political progress.

Finally, Western governing elites need to communicate to their public an honest view of realities in Russia- not 'the truth about Russia' understood as the sum total of negative things that can be said, but something a lot better digested than that. The Russian-bashers may often feel they are serving their countries, since during the Cold War it was true that Soviet-bashing in the media was a form of patriotic flag waving. BUT RUSSIA IS NO LONGER THE ENEMY- IN FACT IT IS MOSTLY A FRIEND- and there are other very real enemies that we could have dealt with better if we had listened to Russia as a friend. This is something the media and others- NGOs, think tanks- have yet to grasp fully. They continue to present a 'patriotic' bias against Russia as the opposite of the patriotic interest of the West.