29 October 2003 10:43
EU`s Patten says Russia needs rule of law on YUKOS
Russia must apply the rule of law in the case of oil giant YUKOS if it wants close trade links with the European Union, EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said on Tuesday. Patten said he expected the case to be raised when EU leaders meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in Rome on November 6.
Although Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov urged investors on Tuesday not to panic, markets have been volatile since the arrest. Analysts say the move was orchestrated by the Kremlin because of Khodorkovsky's support for Putin's liberal opponents.
Questioned by Reuters, Patten said the way Moscow handled the case could affect its economic integration with Europe. Russia will border several EU countries when 10 new members join the bloc next May, while currently it only borders Finland.
"It's one of our objectives to promote a common economic space in Europe, of which Russia will be a part. And an economic space will demand a common acceptance of the rule of law," Patten told reporters. "I would be extremely surprised if the YUKOS case did not feature during our discussions in Rome next week. I think the actions of the markets themselves are a demonstration of the concern which is felt about this case," he said.
"The rule of law for a company is ultimately the same as the rule of law for individuals. So it shouldn't surprise anybody that this case, the details of which none of us know as much about as presumably the Russian authorities...has caused a good deal of concern."
Russia, as well as two more former Soviet states, Ukraine and Moldova, are partners in the EU's "wider Europe" policy, which aims to develop econmomic and political links with the EU's new neighbours as the bloc expands eastwards. Belarus, another ex-Soviet state, is not included because of its failure to meet EU standards on human rights and democracy.
Under the policy, a "Wider Europe Task Force" will draw up action plans to boost ties not only with ex-Soviet states but with other EU neighbours in the southern Mediterranean. But Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said last month his country should stop aspiring to EU membership since the bloc had kept it waiting for too long and offered too little in return.
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