Modernizing Russia

Innovation and modernization have become top keywords in EU-Russian relations, and a new Modernization Partnership is likely to be signed by the parts in the upcoming summit in Rostov-on-Don. The new partnership will strengthen economic cooperation, but might at the same time reduce focus on civil society development, democracy and human rights.

Since the Swedish chairmanship period in EU Council last year, economical innovation and modernization have topped the EU-Russia official agenda, and a new Modernization Partnership is likely to be signed by the parts in the upcoming summit due to start 31 May.

The new partnership document will be based on an informal paper presented last year by the EU Commission. The document includes a 10-point agenda, with focus on the rule of law, foreign investments, enhanced trade, integrated markets, greener economy, scientific research and support for NGOs. In the run-up to the Rostov-on-Don summit, the Kremlin has put some flesh on the commission’s proposal in a three page “Memorandum on key areas of the Partnership for Modernisation”, EUobserver.com reports.

What kind of modernization?

The modernization initiative, which is intended to help bring the Russian economy to a new level of more diversification and less petro-dependency, well matches the credo of President Dmitry Medvedev. On numerous occasions, the President has highlighted the need for a radical modernization of the country.

In his article “Russia, forward!” published in September 2009, the president admits that the 20 years of post-Soviet reforms have failed to resolve Russia’s basic problems; the country still has a “primitive raw material dependent economy, chronic corruption, and old mind sets”. In addition, the country still needs to develop a fully-fledged democracy and civil society, innovative people and better health standards, he maintains.

The Memorandum presented by the Russian side to the EU recently contains a wish-list of “flagship projects” among them on bio-technology, space technology, nano-technology, telecommunications, microelectronics, supercomputers and aircraft engineering. A large part is devoted to energy, covering: energy efficiency; nuclear technology; mineral resources extraction; alternative fuel research and oil and gas processing.

New relations

Less than two years after the Russian-Georgian war and the subsequent chill in EU-Russia relations, Russian and European leaders are approaching a historic level of trust and cooperation. That could make the summit in Rostov-on-Don a breakthrough in relations, with not only the signing of the Modernization Partnership, but also of a roadmap on visa-free travel and with major progress in talks on a new overarching EU-Russia Partnership Agreement.

Read also:The Russian foreign policy shift

Doubtless, the financial crisis and the subsequent acknowledgment of the two parts’ joint challenges have brought the two neighbors closer together. Also the open approach of President Medvedev is likely to have played a significant role.

No value-orientation

The signing of the Modernization Partnership will help enhance much-needed economic and technological cooperation between Russia and the EU. At the same time, it seems clear that the Russian side will remain skeptical to the EU’s value-orientation and stress on civil society development, democracy and human rights. That can be illustrated by Russia’s top representative in Brussels, Vladimir Chizhov, who in a comment to newspaper Vedomosti late last year stressed that “the [Partnership] programme should have a practical character and stay clear of diffuse discussions on the superiority of European values”.

-There is a common understanding that this has to become a concrete thing — after all our relations have reached such a level that there is no need of declarative issues, the Russian top representative to the EU added.

Cross-border cooperation

The high Russian stress on economic innovation and technological cooperation makes it clear that these are Russia’s most desired fields of international cooperation. These are consequently also the fields where Russia will spend most of its international project cooperation money, something which is likely to be felt by partners in the EU.

Cross-border cooperation is today a cornerstone in EU-Russia relations, through the two countries’ joint engagement in the ENPI programmes. Russia, which is contributing significant sums to these programmes, is likely to pursue its technical and non-value approach also here.

That opens up major opportunities for cooperation within the field of business, industry and infrastructure, but leaves civil society and democracy development also in the future a main concern of the EU.

By Atle Staalesen

Staff writer and editor of theBarents Review