ECONOMIC POLITICS

Politicians are fond of pretending that they are concerned about ethical matters and would deny that their primary function is to concern themselves with the economic interests of their masters. So it comes as no great surprise to learn that the EU spokesmen prattle on about "the political rights of small nations" whilst in reality having sordid economic interests in mind.
"Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the European Union not to turn a proposed partnership with former Soviet countries against Russia. He was speaking at the end of a Russia-EU summit held against a background of deep divisions over security, trade and energy supplies. A BBC correspondent in Moscow says the biggest concern at the summit was over Russian gas supplies to Europe. Deliveries were halted in January due to Moscow's price dispute with Ukraine. ... A year ago - when Mr Medvedev became Russia's new leader - there was hope that relations with the EU might gradually improve, the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says. Instead, he says, they have got steadily worse. Relations plummeted after last year's brief war between Russia and Georgia. Since then there has been another gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine which led to gas supplies to many European countries being cut off for two weeks in mid-winter. There is also a growing battle over energy pipelines as the EU tries to find alternatives to its growing dependency on Russian gas." (BBC News, 21May) RD