The agenda of today’s summit between the European Union and Russia, taking place in Samara, on the Volga River, includes the relationships between the 27 member States and Russia’s government, "with a view to the new partnership agreement", which up to now has been vetoed by Poland. In fact, Poland is complaining about the embargo on the export of its meat, declared by Russia. The relationships between the Union and the Russian Federation as pointed out, in the last few days, by sources of both the German government, the current president of the EU, and the European parliament include also energy supplies, respect for human rights and freedom of expression in Russia, the relationships between Russia, the Baltic States (in particular, Estonia), and the States of the former Soviet Union, the status of Kosovo and the Middle East situation. The debate programme includes a specific room reserved for "the strengthening of cooperation in the field of sciences and education". The European delegation will be made up of Angela Merkel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, chancellor and minister of foreign affairs of Germany, respectively (Germany is the current president of the European Council); José Manuel Barroso, chief of the Brussels Executive; Benita Ferrero-Waldner, commissioner for external relations. For the Russian government, President Vladimir Putin and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will be present. Officially, the summit opened yesterday evening with an informal dinner at the residence of Volzhsky, near Samara.
