European Council: the Estonian Position
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At the joint session held by the European Union Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Prime Minister introduced the positions of Estonia at the forthcoming European Council.
France, the holder of the Presidency of the European Union, will organise an extraordinary summit of the European Union on Monday, 1 September, to discuss the situation in Georgia and the relations of the European Union and Russia regarding the Georgian-Russian conflict.
According to Ansip, the European Union must review the entire spectrum of relations with Russia to give Moscow a signal that aggression towards another country cannot be left without any consequences.
The Prime Minister noted that in the current situation, the European Union must decide whether it is appropriate to enter into a new framework contract for cooperation between the European Union and Russia, according to the current plans. The current cooperation between the European Union and Russia depends on a partnership and cooperation contract that will remain in force until a new framework contract is entered into.
Ansip promised to raise the issue of the expediency of continuing the visa dialogue with Russia at the European Council. The final objective of the visa negotiations is the enforcement of visa freedom between the European Union and Russia. The Prime Minister noted that in the current situation, the discussions over the enforcement of visa freedom with Russia would be inappropriate.
However, the Estonian government supports the urgent entry into the Visa Simplification Agreement between the European Union and Georgia.
The Prime Minister also stressed the need to increase the presence of the European Union in Georgia.
“Estonia supports the sending of a European Union observation mission to Georgia, as soon as possible, with a mandate that would allow action across the entire Georgian territory,” said Ansip.