The European Union and Russia are important strategic partners. Russia is Europe’s third biggest trade partner and Russian supplies of oil and gas assemble a large percentage of its export to Europe. The EU and Russia cooperate on a number of challenges, both on international and local level and share a great deal of common interests and concerns. The relationship is one of interdependence not dependence, which means that Russia needs us as much as we need Russia. This offers both sides powerful motivation to put our energy relations on a predictable and concrete basis. We want to develop and further strengthen our relations with Russia based on the principles of reciprocity and transparency.
Russia is indeed the most important energy supplier to the European Union and European companies are its key foreign investors and it is in our mutual interest to continue this trend. Russia has the world’s largest known natural gas reserves and its oil and gas deliveries represent more than 25% of the EU’s consumption. What’s more, sales of Russian raw materials to the EU contribute to over 40% of its federal budget and the EU represents almost 80% of cumulative foreign investments in Russia. This clearly shows our interdependence and creates a common ground for future cooperation.