madam president with a total stock of eur ninety-two billion of foreign investment at the end of two thousand and eight the european union is by far the largest foreign investor in the russian federation
with regard to the energy sector it is the eu's firm intention to ensure that the key principles enshrined in the energy charter treaty will also be part of the ongoing negotiations between the european union and the russian federation on the new treaty
the relevant provisions should include investment protection for the energy sector and in particular a strong dispute settlement mechanism
this approach would be without prejudice to the eu general assessment that the energy charter treaty continues to be a valuable multilateral instrument to govern international energy relations
its unique feature is that it sets legally binding rules on investment protection transit and that it contains provisions on dispute resolution in the energy sector
the european union considers that russia's renewed engagement in the energy charter process as expressed in the last eu-russia summit is very important and it will follow a constructive and open approach in that regard
in this context the eu welcomes the russian interest in a legally binding energy framework following its recent proposal for a draft convention on ensuring international energy security
the modernisation of the energy charter process would be the appropriate context for multilateral negotiations on this proposal
