FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

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Jul 9 / 2:35pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Modernisation: From Words to Deeds

by Kerkko Paananen

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The fourth annual conference of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010, brings together a host of experts on human rights, politics, and the economy from Russia and elsewhere. The conference will be held in the Conference and Cultural Centre Sofia in Helsinki on 21-22 July 2010. The conference venue is located on the picturesque cape of Kallahdenniemi in Helsinki's eastern district of Vuosaari.

The first day of the conference will focus on Russia's need to modernise its political and economic system. Taking part in the discussion will be Boris Nemtsov, Russia's former Deputy Prime Minister, Ilya Ponomaryov, member of Russia's State Duma, Andrey Piontkovsky, Russian scientist and political analyst, Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, and many others. The full list of speakers is available on our website.

The second day of the conference will be devoted to a discussion about the need to create new forms of civil society cooperation between the EU and Russia. A project to establish an EU-Russia Civil Society Forum [pdf] will be presented at the forum. Leading actors in Russia's human rights movement and civic society have been invited to take part in the discussion. Fraser Cameron, Director of the EU-Russia Centre, and Heidi Hautala, Chair of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, will present the project.

The conference is open to the public and participation in the event is free of charge. Registration for the conference is open at http://finrosforum.fi/pages/registration.

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Filed under  //  Civil Society   Economy   FINROSFORUM   Finland   Human Rights   Modernisation   Russia  
 
May 29 / 3:39am

Can EU help Russia modernise?

by Kerkko Paananen
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The EU and Russia are planning to launch a "partnership for modernisation" at their next summit in Rostov on 31 May 2010. The initiative is meant to breathe new life into a relationship that has become stale and tense. It is unlikely to succeed, writes Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform.

What most people in the EU mean by modernisation is very different from the notion held by the Russian leadership. Russia’s concept of modernisation is state-led and project-focused: a state-financed nanotechnology institute, state-owned banks lending to selected sectors, a brand-new "innovation city" outside Moscow set up by government fiat -- these are the building blocks of Medvedev's innovation economy.

This approach cannot work. In today's global economy, picking winners is not something that governments can do. An innovative economy needs open markets, venture capital, free-thinking entrepreneurs, fast bankruptcy courts, and solid protection of intellectual property. Russia's business environment is characterised by wide-spread monopolies, ubiquitous corruption, stifling state-interferences, weak and contradictory laws.

The whole idea that Russia can shift from an economy that relies on oil, gas and heavy industry to a cutting-edge, high-tech one is spurious. Russia should first try to move existing industrial sectors up the value chain by using imported technology and know-how. Large-scale indigenous innovation may come later.

In short, Russian modernisation does not need vertical state intervention but a horizontal improvement of the business environment. It is doubtful whether the Russian leadership has the political will to clamp down on corruption, improve competition, reform the education and science sectors, and strengthen the rule of law.

The EU should ask itself, whether it should accept and support Russia's flawed concept of modernisation, or whether it should make support conditional on Russia implementing at least some of the reforms needed to strengthen the rule of law and improve the economy. In the past, EU attempts to cajole or persuade Russia to implement reforms have had limited or no impact. The modernisation partnership is unlikely to be very different.

http://centreforeuropeanreform.blogspot.com/2010/05/can-eu-help-russia-modernise.html
Filed under  //  EU   Modernisation   Russia