Barroso ontmoet Poetin in Moskou voor besprekingen over toekomst wederzijdse betrekkingen (en)

European Commission President Jose Barroso will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday (17 March) in Moscow for a broad discussion on global issues and future EU-Russia relations. The meeting takes place ahead of the forthcoming G8 Summit in St. Petersburg and in view of the need to frame the post-2007 relationship (the current EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation agreement expires in 2007).

A key element of the talks will be a discussion on energy security, one of the priorities of the Russian G8 Presidency and also a topic of the European Council, March 23-24, where EU heads of state are due to discuss the Commission's Energy Green Paper.

Speaking before the meeting, President Barroso said: "Russia and the European Union are already strong partners in international affairs. The existing EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement reaches the end of its initial ten-year period in 2007. Now is the time, therefore, to rethink the future shape of EU-Russia relations and to explore all the options for a closer and more effective co-operation. At the heart of our relations will be a new energy partnership with Russia. We want to work with Russia on energy security in a positive and constructive way. Europe and Russia are energy interdependent, and the message that I will take to Moscow is that on energy, as in many other areas where we have common interests, we must maximise our co-operation."

The bilateral meeting between European Commission President Barroso and Russian President Putin will take place in Moscow, over dinner, on Friday 17 March.