Mikhail Gorbachev. A new start

As someone who has been in politics for 55 years, I have long been eager to feel the political pulse of Brussels. One of Europe's capitals, it is now host to debates that often reach beyond Europe.

I found my chance to do that on a recent visit to Brussels, where I received the Energy Globe award. This lifetime achievement award, citing my contribution to environmental causes, was presented in the European Parliament plenary hall by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.

Other awards recognized impressive projects by people on all continents whose practical actions - whether on a large or more modest scale - are helping to save our planet from environmental disaster.

Brussels was a fitting setting for the global reach of these awards. And the visit came at an interesting time for me, just a short week after Russia and the EU had finally come to an agreement to start negotiations on a new partnership accord.

Clearly, the EU's global stance hinges on its internal strength, which is now being tested by its rapid enlargement. The European Union is sorting out its complicated internal affairs while positioning itself in the world arena. Talk of the "old" and the "new" Europe, which, incidentally, did not receive a proper rebuff from the Europeans, now seems to be waning; the attempt to split Europe from the outside has failed.

But that brings into focus the real issue: Enormous work is still needed to make sure that the newest EU members conform to the organization's high standards for the economy, social safeguards and fighting corruption.

And what about standards for democracy? There are problems there, too. Just one recent example: While almost two-thirds of the citizens of the Czech Republic object to the deployment of the U.S. anti-missile system on their soil, the country's parliament has supported that project. It is a trick that is a lot less likely to work in a mature democracy.

Many in Brussels worry that the EU must completely devote itself to integrating the new members and readjusting its internal workings to meet the needs of expansion. That, many fear, would undermine Europe's ability to become a real global leader. It seems to me that such fears are not without basis.

Take the environment - an area where the EU has every reason to claim a leadership position. The European Commission has set ambitious goals to fight climate change.

The aim, by 2020, is threefold: a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20 percent increase in energy efficiency and provision of 20 percent of all energy through renewable resources. Yet Europe's record in reducing emissions is rather lackluster so far. Implementation lags behind ambition.

One reason for this could be obsolete decision-making mechanisms. Among other things, they often impede efforts to build a new working relationship between the EU and Russia.

I am, for obvious reasons, particularly concerned about that issue, which was central to my discussions in Brussels. The agreement to start negotiations on a new EU-Russia accord had been postponed by almost 18 months. No one gained from that situation, where two member states, first Poland and then Lithuania, successively blocked the start of negotiations between mutually indispensable partners.

Whatever the motives of Poland and Lithuania in thwarting cooperation with Russia - be it historic grudges or prompting from across the ocean - their actions were essentially anti-European.

One cannot move forward while looking backward, or to the side. This only plays into the hands of those, including those in Russia, who have forgotten nothing and have learned nothing. It is amazing how confrontationally minded politicians and the proponents of force in different countries help one another. Of course, such "help" is the last thing Russia needs.

In my speeches and interviews in Brussels I repeated again and again what I said on the occasion of the inauguration of Russia's new president: Our country's one challenge today is to modernize its economy, politics and society as a whole.

This task has many aspects. President Dmitri Medvedev has singled out a particularly important one - the fight against "legal nihilism," which means strengthening the rule of law.

I support his emphasis, which is of course fully consistent with European values. This is a good time for our European friends to think about how they could support Russia in this vitally important work. Certainly not by setting all kinds of conditions or by lecturing Russia. That has been tried, and it has failed.

What's needed is a comprehensive dialogue aimed at constructing an advanced partnership between the European Union and Russia. I believe that such a partnership should be institutionalized, with joint bodies for decision-making and implementation.

To some, such a project may seem overly ambitious and unrealistic, but I do not think it is a pipe dream. In today's increasingly complex and even dangerous world, it is something that both sides obviously need.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, is president of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies.

The International Herald Tribune, 12.06.2008