Russia hopes for WTO deal at EU summit

European leaders gathered on Friday in Moscow for the first EU-Russia summit since the Europe enlarged on May 1 to 25 countries.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, are joined by European Commission chief Romano Prodi for two days of talks with the Russian leadership.

Moscow is looking for unequivocal EU support for its bid to join the World Trade Organisation, and Ahern has predicted “considerable progress” on this issue.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy was locked in last-minute talks late on Thursday with Russian Trade Minister German Gref over the “eight to ten per cent” of the deal’s content that still remains unresolved.

Gref indicated that he had the mandate of the Russian government to sign a final accord on Friday if the talks were successful.

The biggest outstanding hurdle is Moscow’s insistence on more time before it has to bring its domestic energy prices into line with international prices.

Russia is also being urged to open up its banking and insurance markets to European companies.

EU leaders are keen to encourage Russia that EU enlargement, which took in many former Soviet satellite states, will “not create new dividing lines on this continent.”

“I will be highlighting a number of key EU priorities to President Putin, including the environment, the situation in Chechnya, and the EU’s strong desire to cooperate with Russia, both on the international state and in our common neighbourhood,” said Ahern in a pre-summit statement.

But the EU’s efforts to put pressure on Russia to sign up to the Kyoto treaty on climate change are now standing on shakier ground.

Brussels decided on Tuesday to prepare infringement proceedings against six of its own member states for failing to submit national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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