Eu - Russia relations

 
The institutions of the European Union might take note of the fact that in the Kremlin the office lights burn not only late at night, but also through the weekend. It was no surprise to me at all therefore to find a number of communications in my inbox this sunny Sunday morning, including this very interesting press release on a "draft Federal Law On Security" as submitted by President Medvedev to the State Duma.
 
 

President Medvedev conducted a small reshuffle last week, which has been completely overlooked in the west, but which may represent a further marginalisation of Prime Minister Putin as the two men prepare to compete in upcoming Presidential elections in 2012.
 

The murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 remains a stumbling block between Great Britain and Russia. The killing subsequently led to a number of tit for tat diplomatic expulsions.
 
Earlier that year, in March, myself and a colleague were introduced to Litvinenko by Oleg Gordievsky, former deputy head of KGB. Litvinenko provided information that enabled London MEP Gerard Batten to expose Romano Prodi as a former KGB "asset". I have subsequently taken a personal interest in this killing, which Batten described, quite rightly, as "an act of war".

The European Commission has proven itself utterly powerless whenever it is confronted by the Kremlin. This is partly due to the nature of the behemoth in Brussels, and partly because Russia has little interest in making concessions to a polity that it sees as being only temporary.
 

The decisive way in which Russian special forces stormed the the University tanker, taken by Somali pirates last week near the Gulf of Aden, stands in stark contrast to the hand-wringing and almost apologetic way in which western European nations deal with terrorists.
 
Although we should not laugh at such things, the laconic way in which the fate of the pirates has been discussed in the Russian press cannot fail to bring a smile.
 

As well as future cooperation on energy issues, a rather interesting item appeared on the agenda when Dmitry Medvedev met with Norwegian officials this week.
 
Russia would rather like to redraw the maritime borders between the two countries.
 

The death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, along with his wife and other senior government figures, has come at a time when the tragedy can only be viewed with great suspicion. Kaczynski had placed considerable pressure on the Russian authorities to finally admit to the murder of 22,000 Polich officers and others at Katyn forest, in 1940. For many years, the Russians blamed the Nazis for the murder of the men, who were prisoners of war. It was only in 1990 that Mikhail Gorbachev admitted to the truth - to this day, many Russians still believe the lie.
 

The process of "lustration" is one whereby former Soviet states are purging their political structures of former KGB assets. This of course often includes former operatitves of domestic secret police and other security service. Nowhere is this being pursued with more vigour than in Lithuania, where former EU Commissioner, now President, Dalia Grybauskaitė is urging more speed and efficiency in the process.
 

Today's mid-term regional elections will be seen as an indicator of Dmitry Medvedev's popularity, and results will be likely to dictate the tone of the 2012 presidential campaign.
 

President Medvedev has been on his second working visit to France this week, and met with President Sarkozy on March 1st. Preparations for the forthcoming G8 and G20 summits were high on the agenda, as was the Iranian nuclear programme.