EU Must Accept Russia “As It Is” – Romanian President

Accepting Russia “as it is” depends on its “predictability” and transparency, Basescu said in his speech opening the Europe-Russia Forum, adding that the EU-Russia relationship must build “spheres not of influence, but of trust.”

“The uniqueness of the European Union is to be found in the generosity with which it extended an open hand to former foes,” the President said.

“Russia is the EU’s largest and most important neighbor, but also its most demanding, due to a rather long list of issues. Russia is the EU’s third largest trade partner; the main component of trade is Russian exports of gas and oil,” Basescu said.

The Romanian president added that, currently, bilateral cooperation is made up of four parts – economic and environment issues, international security, research and education and internal affairs and justice -, while international cooperation between the European Union and Russia includes two elements, the first comprising global issues, such as Iran, the Middle East peace process, nuclear non-proliferation, climate change, terrorism and drug trafficking.

“The serious problems in cooperating with Russia make up the second element, concerning its proximity to Eastern Europe and the Black Sea. Here we find irreconcilable issues such as Russia’s unilateral recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, parallelism of energy projects and Russia’s reluctance regarding Black Sea synergy and, recently, regarding eastern partnership,” Basescu said.

In Basescu’s opinion, the EU must continue its efforts to get Russia to cooperate and involve it in common projects.

“This will have to be done on a foundation of distrust. The massive military attack on Georgia in 2008 and the gas crisis early this year mean trust in Russia’s intentions and transparency has diminished.”

Basescu said the EU must accept Russia as it is, asking for predictability and a minimum of economic efficiency in return.