European Union and Russia discussing common European economic space formation

Leaders of one of a top level groups from both Russian and EU sides are to discuss issues concerning common European economic space formation during the negotiations scheduled for late September in Brussels, said Vice Prime Minister of the Russian government Victor Khristenko at a press conference following the meeting of the governmental committee on Russia-EU cooperation issues on Monday.

The working groups are headed by Victor Khristenko and EU Commissioner Christopher Patten.

The parties are preparing corresponding materials, which will secure the process of common Russia-EU economic space formation in the future, Vice Premier said.

The acknowledgement of Russia as a market economy by the European Union was also on the agenda of the meeting. Now the EU is working on implementation of corresponding changes in the regulations on competitive rights, Khristenko stated. By the end of this month the Russian delegation headed by Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade Maksim Medvedkov will hold consultations with EU representatives.

Moreover, Russian and EU experts have recently started working on a number of priority projects in the energy sector.