"All the nuclear fuel contracts should be in effect within the terms and on the conditions set in the contracts. We shall not give our consent to any changes in the contracts only because of these countries being admitted to the European Union," said Medvedkov.
On May 1, the European Union will be joined by ten countries, including East European states, the traditional buyers of Russian nuclear fuel whose export tax is lower than that current in the European Union.
There is also a number of matters on customs and tariff regulation to be decided with the European Union until May 1, according to Mr. Medvedkov. In particular, agreement is still lacking on the export quotas of Russian wheat and barley. Settlement is yet to be reached on the use of EU veterinary legislation on the territory of new EU members.
The deputy minister is certain that the main disputes will have been resolved by the time of EU expansion and Russia's losses from EU expansion will be either minimal or removed altogether.
