On Tuesday, March 13, Russian officials completed another round of talks with the European Union on Moscow’s ban on Polish meat and plant products. Russian authorities say that they need more information before they consider lifting the measure.
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March 14, 2007Russia’s agriculture oversight agency Rosselkhoznadzor said on Friday, March 2, that it will suspend all meat imports from EU nations unless they provide plans for monitoring the safety of their exports by March 31.
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March 4, 2007Rescue workers from several NATO countries, Russia and other European nations teamed up Tuesday in the countryside near Rome for anti-terrorism drills, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Some 250 firefighters, police and emergency workers will work for two days on various simulations of attacks combining common explosives and radioactive components that can contaminate large areas.
The drills, held at the Italian firefighters’ training center in Montelibretti, north of Rome, were designed to improve coordination between rescue services of the six participating countries: Italy, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Austria.
“The first response is always from the nation that is attacked, but if there are shortages of equipment or personnel, NATO and other organizations can mobilize additional resources,†said Evert Somer, a spokesman for NATO’s civil emergency planning. “The objective (of the drill) is to learn to work together.â€
The drill, which also tested response to possible events like the use of a “dirty bomb,†is the last in a series of three joint exercises dealing with potential threats from weapons of mass destruction. The previous exercises were held in Russia in 2002 and 2004 to deal with simulated chemical and biological attacks.
The drill on Tuesday morning included this imaginary scenario: two cars, driven by terrorists, crash into a tanker holding fuel and radioactive material, sparking flames and sending up a cloud of black smoke. A team of fire fighters doused the burning vehicles with water and flame-retarding foam, while tending to pretend casualties dressed in green suits to signal radioactive contamination.
Firefighter Andrea Bonetto said the first response team is called the “canary squad,†a reference to the animal once used by miners to alert them to the presence of toxic gases.
“They are the ones who will save many people but will need to be saved themselves later on,†he said.
While the fake wounded were treated and decontaminated, a Russian team brought in a robot that was maneuvered into the blast area to collect radioactive material and store it in a shielded container.
Another drill Tuesday simulated a “dirty bomb†explosion at a convention center in Trieste, a city in northeast Italy near the border with Slovenia.
“There haven’t been many mistakes†in the drills, said Renato Riggio, a senior Italian firefighting official who directed the exercises. “Perhaps we need less emphasis on rescue operations and more on coordinating†rescues.
He said the drill’s usefulness could pay off in case of attacks in border areas.
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October 27, 2006European Union leaders arrived in Finland on Friday for sensitive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, torn between pleading for closer energy ties and raising concerns about democracy and Georgia, Reuters reports.
EU president Finland invited Putin for dinner with the 25 EU leaders hoping to win backing for a tie-up offering Russia open access to the European market in return for better opportunities for European firms to exploit Russia’s oil and gas resources.
But the assassination of an investigative journalist and the Kremlin’s heavy-handed treatment of former Soviet Georgia and Georgians living in Russia have heightened European concerns about whether Putin shares their values and soured the mood.
Before the encounter in the southern Finnish town of Lahti, the Europeans tried to mute their own differences on whether to treat Moscow more as a strategic partner and supplier of a quarter of its gas or as a bully in its ex-Soviet backyard.
“Only if we act in a more coordinated manner can we exert real influence on world energy markets and respond more effectively to energy disturbances,†Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said in a letter of invitation to EU leaders.
“This is why we need to speak with one voice with our partners,†he urged.
Former Soviet satellites in the Baltic states and central Europe have been vociferous in seeking a tougher EU line, while France and Germany, Russia’s biggest European energy customer, have stressed common ground with Putin.
EU countries are irked by Russia’s refusal to ratify an energy charter treaty and its increasing hostility toward foreign investment in its strategic hydrocarbons sector.
“The spirit of the charter protects consumer countries, meaning Europe,†Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko told French daily Les Echos in an interview, urging
European states to do more their end to secure transit of energy supplies.
The EU this week issued unusually stern criticism of Moscow over its blockade of Georgia and harassment of Georgians inside Russia, that Tbilisi has compared to a form of ethnic cleansing.
“I hope these sanctions will be lifted soon,†Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner as saying in an interview.
“We have called on both sides to avoid actions which could raise the level of tension,†she added.
The Kremlin says Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who seeks membership of NATO and the EU, provoked the backlash with inflammatory rhetoric and a military build-up around Russian-backed breakaway regions of Georgia.
“In principle, there are no restrictions on discussing other topics. If questions arise, we will discuss them,†Putin’s adviser on EU relations Sergei Yastrzhembsky told Interfax.
Before meeting Putin, EU leaders will discuss their own future energy policy, including ambitious plans to save 20 percent of power consumption by 2020 through greater efficiency.
Britain and the Netherlands circulated a joint call to put the fight against climate change at the heart of EU energy policy, and Denmark proposed binding targets to slash fuel consumption and reward efficiency and green energy sources.
They will also debate ways to promote greater innovation through a Commission plan for a European Institute of Technology to rival the United States in connecting research and business.
Germany and Britain lead skeptics of the plan, fearing extra costs and rivalry with existing centers of excellence.
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October 20, 2006
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