Russian lawmaker praises EU-Russia modernization deal
MOSCOW. June 1 (Interfax) - Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, praised the Partnership for Modernization agreement signed at a European Union-Russia summit in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Tuesday.
Stressing the non-ideological character of the agreement, Margelov said: "From the point of view of modernization, this is extremely important as the document stipulates investment in key industries and the strengthening of bilateral trade between Russia and the European Union."
Among the industries the accord covers are space, transportation and efficient use of energy, he told Interfax. Its objectives also include more efficient court proceedings and more effective anti-corruption action.
"[Partnership for Modernization] is of equal benefit to both sides. It's good that today the Russian and European Union leaders have given instructions to coordinators to make plans. There is no wall between Russia and the EU as regards values or ideology. Russia is a European country, a member of the Council of Europe, and it shares values with all countries in the continent," Margelov said.
So it is natural that modernization objectives should determine the nature of future cooperation between Russia and the EU, he said.
Partnership for Modernization stands out among documents passed at the summit, Margelov said.
"One would very much want the pace of implementation of this document to be quite fast unlike some of our unsuccessful current dialogues with Brussels," he said.