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European Union trade chief to press Russia on WTO
BRUSSELS (October 24 2002) : The European Union's top trade official is to press Russia over opening up its markets for services such as telecoms and banking during talks on Moscow's entry to the World Trade Organisation, officials said on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin has made WTO entry one of his economic priorities and European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy is to visit Moscow and St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday to try and push the talks forward.
"We are keen to make good progress in the WTO accession talks, but this means hard work ahead in one or two key areas, such as services," Lamy said in a statement.
The EU wants Russia to commit itself to open its markets for a wide variety of services, although Russia has various hurdles to foreign participation in some sectors such as banking.
The EU also wants more access to the Russian insurance market.
Lamy is on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, members of the State Duma lower house of parliament and Russian industrialists.
On Friday he meets Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref in St Petersburg.
"The purpose of these meetings is to take the political temperature of where Russia is in their wish to accede to the WTO," Lamy's spokeswoman, Arancha Gonzalez, said of the talks with Kasyanov.
"His message to Duma members will be to continue the internal reforms that are necessary in order to comply with the WTO commitments," she told a news conference.
"The basic message to Russian industrialists will be that the WTO is good for you.
It ensures a level playing field and you should not be afraid of the WTO.
Reforms take place in a gradual manner and not from one day to the next," she said.
Some of Russia's best known entrepreneurs have said Russia is not ready to join the WTO, which usually includes obligations to open up various sectors of the market to competition and ensure freer access to foreign firms.
Courtesy Business Recorder
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