EU intends to establish pragmatic ties with neighboring states, new EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule said in an interview with RFE/RL.

According to him, EU already has certain agreements with several countries, like Georgia.

Fule also touched upon EU-Russia relations, saying “I think it is fair for us to say that we would like to deepen our relationship with that part of Europe not at the expense of the relationships that part of Europe has with third countries.”

Speaking of Czech-Russian relations he said, “when the Czech Republic was about to join NATO and also, later on, the European Union, there were those telling us, ‘You have to choose between Moscow and Brussels.’ And we were saying, &‘Actually no, we don’t want to be pushed into that decision.’ We were saying that actually, through joining NATO and the European Union, we could strengthen to a certain extent our relationship with Russia. And I think it is actually exactly what has happened. The relationship between the Czech Republic and Russia is not full of emotions as it was before. We feel more on an equal footing when talking to Russia. It’s actually improved the relations because they are now more pragmatic. And this is also what we seek vis-a-vis the countries of the Eastern Partnership,” Stefan Fule stressed.

European Neighborhood project includes Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus.

A.G.