Russia 111115 Basic Political Developments
Russia Seen Close to Ending Air Tax
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Russia Seen Close to Ending Air Taxhttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203503204577038081182036126.html?mod=googlenews_wsj By DANIEL MICHAELSBRUSSELS—European officials believe the European Union is near to clinching a pact to end extraordinary fees for flights that cross Siberian airspace, EU officials said, five years after Russia shelved the agreement. In a letter to EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht dated Nov. 7, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Russian Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina pledged to put into force an agreement struck in 2006 that until recently appeared dead. "One month ago, the idea that this would be solved in 30 days seemed impossible," said a senior European official familiar with the talks. Officials at Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Transport didn't reply to requests for comment. The letter follows a flurry of negotiations in recent weeks that has cleared the way for Russia to join the World Trade Organization as soon as this year. But the EU has long said it could not accept Russia's WTO membership with the overflight fees in place, and could still veto Russia's entry without a clear commitment to end them. The pact would eliminate more than $400 million in annual charges that Moscow levies on European airlines for crossing its territory en route to Asia. If it takes effect, European airlines could boost frequencies to countries including China, Vietnam and Malaysia, whose economies are growing strongly. Russia could benefit from foreign carriers' increased frequencies through rising air-traffic-control income, which is separate from the overflight charges. European aviation officials deem the charge for crossing Siberia, a type of fee charged by no other government, as extortionary. Terms of the fee agreements are secret and airlines that don't pay risk being denied access to Russian airspace, European aviation officials say. Russian officials, who have imposed the payments since the 1970s, say they are commercial contracts that European airlines strike with Russia's national airline, Aeroflot. Asian airlines also pay fees to Aeroflot for flights to Europe but those charges aren't addressed by current talks. The charges add roughly $100, or 10%, to the price of each affected round-trip ticket and can tip the economics of many routes from profit to loss, said Craig Jenks, president of Airline/Aircraft Projects, a consulting firm in New York that has studied the fees. Russia and the EU in 2006 agreed to eliminate the overflight fees after more than two years of negotiations. But Moscow soon backtracked by linking implementation to Russia's joining the WTO. European airline officials have since voiced skepticism about Moscow's willingness to finalize the pact. Some have recently said they would remain dubious until the charges are lifted but are now more optimistic. Until the past few months, prospects of Russia entering the WTO appeared dim. But WTO officials now expect Russia to join the 153-country group next month. As Russia's WTO accession talks accelerated, European aviation officials renewed their push to enact the 2006 pact, under pressure from EU airlines. The carriers fear that WTO accession is the only leverage the EU has over Russia to eliminate the charges. At a high-level EU-Russian aviation meeting in St. Petersburg last month, EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas and his staff lobbied their Russian counterparts hard for progress on the deal, according to people familiar with the talks. According to the letter from Ms. Nabiullina, Russia will begin removing the overflight charges on Jan. 1 if Russia joins the WTO next month. Under an updated version of the 2006 pact, any new European flights across Siberia wouldn't be subject to the fees. From Jan. 1, 2014, all Siberian overflight fees would be eliminated. The change could offer a lift to European airlines at a crucial time. Passenger and cargo traffic in Europe and the U.S. are weakening but fuel prices remain high, putting many carriers in a bind. Fast-growing airlines from the Persian Gulf region, which don't need to cross Siberia for most Asian routes, are poaching ever more traffic from European rivals. Mr. Jenks, the consultant, estimated that if the fees are removed and European airlines pass along the savings in lower fares, traffic on affected routes could increase by roughly 12% and airlines could add new routes. EU officials want to remove an impediment to both European airlines' operations and deeper economic ties between Europe and Asia. In Brussels, officials are concerned by the rise of Asian economic power and deepening U.S. ties, exemplified by a series of summits around the Pacific that U.S. President Barack Obama is now holding with Asian countries. —Nadia Popova in Moscow contributed to this article. Write to Daniel Michaels at daniel.michaels@wsj.com Russian bans German pig importshttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/15/60399480.html Nov 15, 2011 10:03 Moscow Time A ban on the import of live pigs from Germany is kicking in today. According to international veterinary norms, live animals shall not be given antibiotics 30 days before shipping – a precaution Russian officials say was ignored by German exporters. Germany is one of Russia’s main suppliers of live pigs, selling 120,000 animals last year alone. (RIAN)
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According to market research by Comscore, there are more Internet users in Russia than in any other European country. In September, Russia, now with 50.8m Internet users overtook previous no.1 Germany, with 50.1m. Russian social network vkontakte is EuropeÕs no.1 site in terms of time spent on it by visitors, with each vkontakte user spending on average 7.1 hours on the site in September, according to Comscore, as reported in business daily Vedomosti.
2011/11/15 18:11 KST Russian envoy seeks to ease concerns about gas pipeline passing N. Korea http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/11/15/0200000000AEN20111115009800315.HTML By Lee Haye-ah SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- Russia's top envoy to South Korea on Tuesday sought to ease concerns about building a gas pipeline linking the two countries via North Korea, saying his country is prepared to take all risks arising from the project. The remarks by Ambassador Konstantin Vnukov came shortly after a summit meeting between the two countries' leaders in St. Petersburg early this month, during which Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised to ensure the safety of the pipeline's passage through the provocative North. Directory: gifiles -> attach attach -> British Forces – Akrioti, Greece Griffin Fighter Squadron (84 Squadron raf) MoD announced possible Typhoon and Tornado arrivals to the base France attach -> Russia 110204 Basic Political Developments attach -> Unclassified//for official use only attach -> Adaptability Sustainment attach -> Pop-up 1 ("C" Chechnya) Header Text: Emir of the Caucasus Emirate Doku Umarov Image attach -> Russia and Islam are not Separate attach -> Chapter 13: The Northern Caucasus attach -> Russia 100209 Basic Political Developments attach -> The evolution attach -> The devolution Download 336.63 Kb. Share with your friends:
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