BRUSSELS: The EU is warning Russia that it may impose hard-hitting sanctions unless it drops its belligerent attitude towards the east European countries joining the union in May.
Union foreign ministers are planning to tell Vladimir Putin that Moscow's already rocky relations with the EU will suffer unless it rethinks its negative approach to the EU's enlargement and treats the newcomers on the same basis as other states.
Their meeting on Monday will try to end months of deadlock by warning publicly of a "serious impact" on relations.
The European commission is already looking at trade sanctions modelled on those imposed in disputes between the EU and US.
Ireland, currently holder of the EU's rotating presidency, has spent weeks trying to break down Moscow's resistance to accepting that eight former Soviet satellites and republics are about to become members of a wealthy and powerful organisation.
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia become fully fledged members on May 1, together with Cyprus and Malta.
Their foreign ministers will be with those of the current 15 members at Monday's talks in Brussels.
"This is urgent because it really must be done by May 1, so we have to send a firm message," a EU diplomat said last night.
An EU-Russia summit is to be held in Moscow in May or June.
Russia objects to the fact that the partnership and cooperation agreement which governs the terms of its trade with EU states is to be extended to the newcomers.
That means companies in Poland and Slovakia will be able to export goods to Russia at much lower tariffs than previously. The rules must be applied "without precondition or distinction" to all 25, ministers will say.
Last month Russia put forward 14 demands, aiming to defend its economic interests through measures such as increased import quotas and more preferential tariffs. It also wants its citizens to have visa-free access to the EU.
The ambassadors to Moscow of the 25 current and future EU members were summoned to the foreign ministry for a "detailed account of Russia's concerns over the predicted adverse consequences" of enlargement.-Dawn/The Guardian News Service.