European Commison President Jose Manuel Barroso (L), Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (C) and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrick Reinfeldt attend a news conference after a one-day EU-Russia summit in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, Nov. 18, 2009. EU-Russian cooperation in climate and energy fields will be further intensified, the leaders from the EU and Russia said after the summit on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wu Ping) Photo Gallery>>>

    STOCKHOLM, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the European Union Wednesday emphasized their cooperation on climate change, energy supplies and trade during a summit that was held in a positive atmosphere rarely seen in recent years.

    Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, called it "one of the best meetings we have had."

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held a similar view concerning the meeting.

    "I am very pleased by the fact that Russia-EU summit were no longer as strained as before and had acquired the quality of routine work, which is normal for this long-standing European institution, " Medvedev said.

    During the meeting, Russia agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent by 2020 from the 1990 level, an improvement of 10 percent compared with its earlier commitments.

    Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, welcomed Russia's constructive attitude toward climate change, while emphasizing that cooperation between the EU and Russia on the topic needs to be strengthened.

    Russia is very important to climate issues because it is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, Reinfeldt said, noting that Moscow was expected to play a key role in getting an environmental deal done in Copenhagen next month.

    The two sides also stressed the need for sustained and constructive cooperation on energy supplies.

    Russian gas sent to Europe via Ukraine accounts for 20 percent of Europe's supplies, which were halted for more than two weeks in January due to a quarrel between Moscow and Kiev.

    The EU emphasized the importance of safe energy supplies and said that it would not establish steady energy relations with Russia until Moscow guarantees stable and transparent supplies.

    Russia and the European Union on Monday signed a memorandum on an early warning mechanism that requires both sides to inform the other of any possible disruption to energy supplies and to jointly settle the problem.

    The two sides also reached consensus on Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization. Both Barroso and Reinfeldt said the EU would like to see its third largest trading partner join the WTO as soon as possible.

    Russian Premier Vladimir Putin, however, had announced a plan in June where his country would form a customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus and tie its WTO membership application to that of the two other countries. That plan is opposed by the EU.

    Russia, however, modified its proposal at the summit. Medvedev said Russia would use the shortest way possible to join the WTO and that the form of accession was less important.

    "What is important for us is the speed. Whichever way is the shortest, we will use that way. If it turns out to be the way of concerted but individual accession, we will choose that way," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Medvedev as saying.

    Although the two sides strove to repair bilateral ties, the summit produced no written agreements and did not make any breakthroughs in concluding a new partnership and cooperation deal to replace the one that expired last year.

    The Russia-EU summit is held twice a year, once in Russia and once in the country holding the EU's rotating presidency. The previous summit took place May 21-22 in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk.

EU, Russia agree to cooperate in climate, energy fields

    STOCKHOLM, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- EU-Russian cooperation in climate and energy fields will be further intensified, the leaders from the EU and Russia said after one day's EU-Russian summit on Wednesday.

    Climate change and energy issues dominated the discussions at the summit, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country is the current rotating presidency of EU, said at a joint press conference together with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, President of the European Commission Jos Manuel Barroso and EU High Representative Javier Solana after the summit. Full story

EU, Russia to intensify cross-border cooperation

    BRUSSELS, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and Russia signed here on Wednesday a series of financing agreements for five cross-border cooperation (CBC) programs to promote economic and social development in border regions.

    The European Commission said the financing would amount to 437 million euros (652 million U.S. dollars) until 2013, and would be coming from the EU's executive arm, its member states and Russia. Full story

Russia, EU agree to early warning mechanism on energy supply

    MOSCOW, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the European Union (EU) signed on Monday a memorandum on an early warning mechanism to ensure stable energy supplies.

    The agreement, signed by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatkoand EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, requires both sides to warn the other of any possible disruption to supplies of oil, gas and electricity and to jointly settle the problem. Full story