2006年VOA标准英语-Russian-European Relations Strained on Eve of S

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
23 November 2006

Relations between Russia and the European Union have come under strain just as Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet European leaders Friday in Finland. Disputes over agricultural imports and energy issues have arisen in an increasingly complex relationship. Bill Gasperini has this preview of the summit from Moscow.

----

Vladimir Putin

President Putin has met with European leaders on many occasions, normally in a generally positive atmosphere. But there are signs that Friday's summit in Finland may be different, as disagreements have surfaced on key issues, especially over energy policy.

Russian officials are rejecting renewed calls from the European Union to sign a new energy charter that would open its oil and gas market to foreign investment.

Brussels says the charter is necessary to boost security and efficiency, especially in the pipeline¹ network from Russia that supplies the European Union with about one-third of its energy needs. Moscow insists it must retain control over, what the Kremlin calls, Russia's strategic resources.

But this long-standing dispute is overshadowed by an open split over agricultural imports.

New EU member Poland has blocked Europe's plan to open talks at the summit on a new cooperation agreement with Russia until Moscow agrees to lift a ban on Polish food products. The ban was imposed a year ago due to alleged³ violations⁴ of health regulations.

And Russia's envoy⁵ to the European Union, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, says Brussels should not allow one member country to hold up progress on improving relations.

Mr. Yastrzhemsky says that the ball is in Europe's court and that it holds all the cards in terms of working out its problems at home.

Meanwhile, Russia is threatening to ban food and dairy imports from the European Union on January First, amid new concerns about hygiene⁶ in Bulgaria and Romania, which are due to join the bloc² on that date.

An EU spokesman says such a total ban would be unjustifiable because Europe has taken precautions to insure sanitation⁷ and safety on all products within its single market.

It remains⁸ unclear whether the threatened ban is a response to Poland's move. But Russian officials have long complained that countries from the former Soviet⁹ bloc, such as Poland, are pursuing anti-Russian policies due to bitterness left over from the Soviet era.

Other tensions exist over issues such as the enforcement of environmental standards, as Russia and its EU neighbors grapple with an increasingly complex relationship.

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

7 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。