Solana: Finland has important role in EU relations with Russia
EU foreign affairs envoy opposes setting dates for visa-free travel with Russia
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The foreign affairs envoy of the European Union, Javier Solana, says that Finland’s experiences as a country bordering on Russia are important for all of Europe when the EU builds relations with Moscow.
"As a neighbour of Russia, Finland has a very important role in sharing experiences with those EU member states that do not share a common border with Russia. For that reason, Finland has valuable experience", said Solana on Monday in a joint interview with three Nordic newspapers, Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat, Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter, and Denmark’s Politiken.
However, he would not specify what Finland’s practical contribution might be in promoting Russian-EU ties.
Solana will get a more powerful role in the EU’s external affairs if the member states approve the proposed new constitution. Under the draft constitutional treaty, Solana would effectively become the EU’s Foreign Minister, taking on the role of the Commissioner for External Affairs in addition to his present post. The Foreign Minister would also act as Vice President of the Commission.
As Solana sees it, the role of an EU Foreign Minister would not weaken the national foreign ministries, which will have the added task of relaying important information to the EU.
Relations between Russia and the EU are currently in a state of flux. In about three weeks, the parties hope to strengthen their cooperation at the summit meeting in The Hague.
Today, Tuesday, Solana is taking part in discussions preparing for the summit.
No miracles are expected from the upcoming gathering; Moscow has exerted pressure by refusing to confirm whether or not it will attend the meeting. Development of ties has also been hampered by the fact that the leaders of the large member states have sought to maintain direct links with the Kremlin, which has cast doubt on the credibility of a common EU policy toward Russia.
The setbacks experienced by democracy under President Vladimir Putin have also been seen as awkward for the EU, especially as just last year the two sides declared that they were building relations on the basis of shared values.
Solana says that he still accepts this as a starting point, but only on a "general level".
"The implementation of these values [in Russia] is sometimes a cause for concern, but we could say the same about the United States: we have the same values, but we interpret them in a different manner."
Finns are especially concerned about the long-term prospect of visa-free travel between Russia and the EU. Solana sees the matter as "very difficult", and will not set any dates for the implementation of such a move.
He notes that although the trend is toward visa-free travel, the issue is complicated already on a technical level. "We must maintain the target of achieving the goal as soon as possible, but we must not promise any dates."
One of Solana’s reasons for strengthening the EU’s foreign policy is that the European Union is the world’s most important trading bloc, with a total population that far exceeds that of the United States or Japan. The EU is also the world’s largest donor of development aid. For that reason, Solana says that the EU has a moral and political obligation to be a strong international player.
"This does not mean that we will try to conquer the world. But when we watch television in our living rooms, and see how many people are suffering, and we ask why the hell the EU is not doing anything about it, it would be hypocritical for the Union not to provide the means to do something."
Next month's Presidential elections in the United States are such a sensitive issue that Solana’s representative had warned already before the interview that questions about the election would be considered "inappropriate".
When asked on Monday which of the two main candidates for the US Presidency he prefers, Solana answered:
"My favourite is whomsoever a majority of Americans choose."
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 19.10.2004 - TODAY |
 Solana: Finland has important role in EU relations with Russia |
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