Russia could lose as much as $150m a year as a result of the European Union’s expansion, acting Economy Minister German Gref told reporters on Tuesday

Russia could lose as much as $150m a year as a result of the European Union’s expansion, acting Economy Minister German Gref told reporters on Tuesday. At the same time, he stressed that Russia’s positive dialog with the EU could solve the problem. Ten countries – Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia – will join the European Union on May 1, 2004. He said reports about the so-called “trade war” between the European Union and Russia were exaggerated. According to Mr. Gref, Russia is in the process of settling its disagreements with the European Union. He said common approaches had been found on all controversial issues, including uranium fuel and agricultural products. Another round of EU-Russia talks will be held later this month, when EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will visit Moscow.