|
Letter from AEB CEO, Dr. Frank Schauff
The European Parliament has approved the appointment of José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission. It will be Mr. Barroso's second five-year term as Commission President. Mr. Barroso was elected by 382 votes in favour, 219 against and 117 abstentions in a vote held by secret ballot on Wednesday, the 17th of September, 2009. Ireland voted YES to the Lisbon treaty on Friday, the 2nd of October, 2009. Irish voters supported the treaty by a decisive 67.1% in favour, with 32.9% against it. In order for the treaty now to enter into effect, it must still be signed by both Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Czech President Václav Klaus. In both countries the parliaments have already ratified the text. The Czech President currently says that he will withhold his signature pending a verdict by his country's Constitutional Court, which has been asked for a new opinion on the treaty by a group of Senators in the Czech parliament. There are some observers who are of the opinion that the reformation of the EU could be put under question if the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty is not completed by next year, before the elections in Britain take place.
The Delegation of the European Commission to Russia will be welcoming a new Head of Delegation, as well as a new Deputy Head of Delegation in November, 2009. Ambassador Fernando M. Valenzuela will replace Marc Franco as Head of Delegation. The current Deputy Head of Delegation, Paul Vandoren, shall be replaced by Mr. Michael Webb. Ambassador Valenzuela previously served as Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations. Michael Webb is coming from the Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission and served as Deputy Head of Unit for Russia and the Northern Dimension.
A brief look at the state of Russia’s economy for the month of September, 2009, from reports gathered, shows that that last month, the economy contracted at the slowest pace this year, indicating that Russia is also emerging from the financial crisis. The Federal State Statistics issued a statement via e-mail, stating that so far, the inflation rate has been the lowest for the year 2009 – falling from 11.6 per cent in August to 10.7 per cent last month. Certain Russian companies have also been taking steps towards privatization; with some working on agreements that may become examples of successful Public Private Partnerships in Russia. Several sources said that Sheremetyevo, one of the largest state assets could be sold under the government’s 2010 privatisation plan. Also, Russia plans to continue investing in the science and technology sector. President Medvedev, in his speech on the 6th of October 2009 said 318 billion rubles (10.6 million dollars) will be invested into the development of nanotechnology by 2015. On the whole, one can say that recovery although universally slow, is almost certainly steady.
On a final note, I would like to welcome all the new members of the AEB and wish everyone the best in the month ahead.
Dr. Frank Schauff
Chief Executive Officer
The Association of European Businesses
in the Russian Federation
|
