Novaya Politika
Russia, Poland, EU row over Yamal-Europe Pipeline
Russia and Poland have hit an unexpected stumbling block on their bilateral agenda - the ownership of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe natural gas pipeline. The row broke out amid improving relations and reports that the two countries had agreed to expand Poland's gas purchases.
Moreover, the European Commission also got involved in the dispute, asserting that this issue could not be settled bilaterally but had to be coordinated with the European Union and comply with the EU's Third Energy Package.
According to recent Russian-Polish agreements, the operator of the pipeline was to be replaced in September. The Russian-Polish venture, EuRoPol Gaz, which owns the pipeline, was to be replaced by Polish Gaz-System on September 11. As a result, Russia will lose control of the pipeline, which will be owned by the Polish company; on the other hand, Gazprom will get a lucrative contract to expand gas exports to Poland to 10.3 billion cubic meters a year by 2037. Yet, Russia would not give up its stake in the Polish section of the pipeline easily. Gazprom said it would agree to Gaz-System's appointment as the pipeline's technical operator - but not as the single owner. It is unclear whether the parties will be able to reach a compromise any time soon.
The possibility of this agreement immediately put the European Commission on its guard. The authority insists that the pipeline's operation comply with the EU's Third Energy Package, obviously wanting the pipeline under EU control.
According to the Third Package, pipelines and other energy and resource transportation facilities have to be operated by companies independent from producers of energy or resources, which should guarantee all producers, large or small, access to pipelines.
On the one hand, the European Commission wants the pipeline to be under the EU's control; however, in this case, it won't be the EU as a group, but Poland as an individual country, which runs counter to EU requirements.
In any case, to settle the pipeline ownership issue, a compromise must be found. Russia is unlikely to cede its position, while the European Commission will certainly keep insisting on liberalizing the European energy market.
Izvestia
Foreign policy and the personal factor
Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the international affairs committee at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, discusses foreign policy issues and current challenges facing Russia.
We often complain that Russia's image abroad is distorted. This is largely influenced by Cold War stereotypes: some countries still refer to Russians as "Reds." Here in Russia we feel excluded from European projects and would like to operate on a similar degree of mutual trust.
Russia has proposed establishing a new European security system to replace the current one, which allows for the emergence of local conflicts and sometimes even greater upheavals. We believe that there are no objective causes for future strategic clashes like the ones we have seen in the past between the great powers over disputed territories and natural resources.
We are not divided by ideology or affiliation with conflicting blocs and groups. Consequently, it would be appropriate to build a common and reliable security system.
But the response of our European partners to such ideas has been rather cautious. Common security mechanisms can be developed only after nations become united, after they renounce mutual suspicions and after objective pre-requisites for formalizing all aspects on paper are created.
Distorted perceptions, prejudices and phobias emerge due to the lack of objective information and, most importantly, as a result of personal impressions. When I talk with European or American politicians, I often realize that their views of Russian developments frequently differ from public perceptions.
But they become hostage to a situation when statements running counter to common opinions may impair their popularity. On the other hand, Russia's foreign contacts boil down to formal official diplomacy at a time when much depends on personal contacts between politicians. This is probably explained by a rudimentary Soviet-era mentality.
We often note that Russia maintains stable friendly relations with just a few countries along its perimeter. We frequently make self-critical statements, perceiving our own mistakes and miscalculations. But should Russia alone be blamed for this?
To be honest, Russians no longer have a negative attitude toward any neighboring country or other nation, an attitude that would stem from history or any national specifics.
It is precisely this circumstance that makes me optimistic. I believe that in the future Russia will be surrounded by genuinely friendly states that derive obvious benefits from mutual cooperation. This may form the foundation for the most reliable Eurasian security system that had ever existed.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Medvedev, Nazarbayev discuss restructuring of commodity-based economies
A summit between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, closed in Ust-Kamenogorsk on Tuesday with the signing of 27 agreements which are bound to bring large profits to both countries.
The two heads of state also attended the 7th Inter-Regional Cooperation Forum.
The interstate and inter-regional agreements signed cover many economic sectors in Russia and Kazakhstan. "There is no alternative to deeper integration," Nazarbayev said. He also admitted that the two economies are more commodity oriented than he would deem appropriate and that one solution would be to develop innovation technology.
Indicatively, the 7th Inter-Regional Cooperation Forum focused on innovation. Prior to the forum, Nazarbayev and Medvedev visited a joint Russian-Kazakh exhibition showing innovative technology. This visit probably prompted analysts to write later that their talks were not entirely focused on inter-regional projects but mainly covered high technology cooperation.
At the beginning of this year, Kazakhstan adopted a state program to boost industrial innovation development which emphasized the financing of non-commodity projects. Russia is not significantly ahead of Kazakhstan in this respect; their progress is comparable. "Both countries are progressing at an even pace. But state bureaucracy is a problem here. Russia and Kazakhstan also have similar political systems, state capitalism, which means resources are controlled by the government and businesses have a heavy government regulation load. The government alone defines development priorities. Therefore, it is possible that state capitalism could evolve into a bureaucratic dictatorship, where state officials control the economy. This is already happening in Kazakhstan meaning that innovation projects might remain on paper only," said Dosym Satpayev, director of the Assessment Risks Group in Almaty.
The two presidents also discussed water resources. Forecasts say that Kazakhstan will face a shortage of drinking water in the next 20 years. To avoid that, Nazarbayev proposed returning to the idea of reversing the flow of Siberia's rivers. "Why not revisit the old project of redirecting Siberian rivers to the southern regions of Russia and Kazakhstan? In the long run, it would help provide drinking water to all of Central Asia," he said. However, this project is unpopular in Russia for a number of reasons.
Medvedev, in turn, proposed speeding up the construction of the Western Europe-Western China Transport Corridor crossing Kazakhstan. This year is to see the completion of the first segment of the road, Aktau-Atyrau, and the beginning of construction on the second section, Atyrau-Astrakhan. Russia's Astrakhan Region is expected to have a far greater share in the two countries' overall inter-regional cooperation after the new road is completed.
RBC Daily
Students as cheap workforce
Student working teams may become an additional source of income for young people, at the same time giving companies that recruit them an advantage when applying for state contracts, United Russia and LDPR deputies say. They suggest that government orders be placed with businesses that employ young people. The authorities fear growing public discontent more than unemployment, experts explain.
According to the Ministry for Healthcare and Social Development, there were 1.71 million officially registered jobless in Russia as of September 1. By mid-summer total unemployment stood at 5.4 million, or 7% of the gainfully employed population. Rosstat (State Statistics Service) reported that young people aged under 25 made up 33% of job seekers, and the average age of the jobless in July was 33.5 years.
Lawmakers have decided to set an additional requirement to state-order placing. Government agencies, they say, will now demand that companies fulfilling state orders employ student teams. A memo to the draft law says that young people could be employed in the construction of large infrastructure and industry projects. Deputies are not going to limit themselves to this rule, though.
The idea has been under discussion for several years now, says Alexander Galushka, vice-president of the public organization Delovaya Rossiya. "This arrangement will not only be an opportunity for young people to have an income, but will also encourage businesses to employ them instead of migrant workers from former Soviet republics. There will be no big difference in pay, but this will not fully satisfy the workforce demand in Russia and migrant workers will be employed elsewhere," he said.
The government will also achieve another objective, say experts. It simply has no resources to pay students adequate scholarships. But it can compensate for it by drawing on businesses, they say. Alexei Makarkin, first vice-president of the Center for Political Technologies, says, however, that students can be employed only during vacations.
"Nor will such teams replace migrants from the former Soviet Union: employers look for cheap workforce with no rights, while students do not fit such a description. We see here just a desire to placate the students that cannot be provided for and stall possible protests," Makarkin sums up.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
Russian scientists propose supersonic air-taxi concept
The history of Russia's supersonic transports has not ended with the famous Tupolev Tu-144 program. Scientists at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in Zhukovsky near Moscow have developed a supersonic executive-aircraft concept.
Foreign design engineers continue to develop large supersonic transports and smaller executive planes. However, several fundamental problems, including the sonic boom, must be solved in order to make them a reality.
"We must significantly reduce the negative sonic-boom impact which resembles an explosion," the then TsAGI director and D. Sc. (Physics-Mathematics) Sergei Chernyshov told the paper two years ago.
"Most importantly, we can now bring sonic-boom levels down to 65 decibels," he noted.
In effect, drastically reduced sonic-boom levels which no longer bother anyone can be used to adopt sonic-boom standards and requirements in the future. Analysts say the relevant international requirements will probably not be adopted before 2011.
Although the fundamental sonic-boom problem has been solved, subsequent bench tests and various R&D projects will take another five years.
"First, a small supersonic executive plane will be developed because it is much easier to ensure its conformity with acceptable sonic-boom levels and noise requirements. The market is estimated at an impressive 400 aircraft," Chernyshov said.
Naturally, supersonic taxis will cost much less than huge supersonic commercial aircraft. TsAGI engineers have examined various technical solutions and options making it possible to assess the supersonic executive plane's design.
A survey of executive-jet operations shows that these planes are primarily used for single-day business trips. They take off from their home airports in the morning, the executive holds a business meeting in the afternoon and can return home that evening. About 93% of routes do not exceed 4,000 km.
Paris and London are located about 2,500 kilometers from Moscow, while the distance between the Russian capital and Barcelona is just over 3,000 km. Irkutsk and New Delhi are located 4,300 km from Moscow.
A supersonic aircraft can cover such distances in less than three hours. Analysts say the passenger compartment will measure 1.3-1.4 meters in diameter.
Moreover, supersonic taxis will be able to operate from 1,200-meter runways which can be found at just about any regional center or city.
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MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti)
