Russia, EU plan to continue discussing investor rules
NIZHNY NOVGOROD. June 10 (Interfax) - The rules of the Third Energy Package adopted by the European Union will be followed, but the EU is ready to hold pragmatic talks with Russia on all of the issues that cause its concern, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said.
Domestic market rules will be applied, but the EU is prepared to look for pragmatic solutions to concrete problems bearing in mind Russian partners' concerns over how some EU member states follow these rules in practice, Van Rompuy said at a news conference after the Russia-EU summit in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday.
The main task of implementing the Third Energy Package is to create a level playing field for Russian investors and other investors from countries that are not EU members, he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the same news conference that the parties had been discussing ways to make the implementation of the Third Energy Package mutually beneficial, as well as its impact on relations between Russia and the EU in the energy sector for more than one year.
"The most important thing for us is to make sure that the implementation of the EU's appropriate resolution does not have any negative effect on Russian investors and European citizens themselves because we ought to pursue a balanced approach to what will happen on the European market instead of simply executing earlier adopted decisions," the Russian leader said.
"In this context, in my opinion, consultations should continue and should help formulate some mutually beneficial approaches in the end," he said.
It is necessary to ensure that Russia's concerns are heeded and dialogue is held on them, Medvedev said.