The 27th Russia-EU summit opened in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on the River Volga on Thursday.

Following the earlier tradition, heads of delegation begin talks at an informal dinner. This time, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev invited Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council and Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, to the Rukavishnikov Mansion, an architectural museum. After the dinner, they will make a voyage along the Volga onboard Rossiya motor ship.

Official events will start on Friday morning with a working meeting to be continued at a working breakfast. Later, Medvedev, Rompuy and Barroso will hold a news conference.

The Russia-EU summits are organized twice a year: during the first half of the year – in Russia, and later in the year – in an EU country. Traditionally, the first day of the summit is devoted to informal meetings, while the second day features working sessions.

Medvedev has introduced a new, “water,” tradition for the summits. In 2009, in Khabarovsk, he organized a motor ship trip along the Amur River, and in 2010 participants in the summit had an informal dinner at the Don River.

Russian president’s aide Sergei Prikhodko has called the agenda of the upcoming summit traditional. “The working session will discuss global economy and global management, practical issues of partnership, while the working breakfast will be devoted to international topics of Northern Africa and the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear program, European regional problems,” he said. “The European side may raise the issues of the Bosnia and Trans-Dniester settlements. We are prepared to those.”

“Traditionally, the European counterparts are interested in the situation in Russia’s economy, and the president, surely, will talk about it in detail as well as about the efforts to reform the economy,” he continued.

The participants will also discuss the organization in Moscow of an international financial centre, reforming of world financial institutions, preparations for the G20 summit, and results of the G8 summit in Deauville.

“Quite possibly, the president will raise the issue of the Internet, which was on the agenda in Deauville – free development with minimal regulations and intellectual rights protection,” Prikhodko said.

“The summit will analyze the entire complex of the Russia-EU relations,” he noted. “Over the past year, the initiative Partnership for Modernization has become a catalyst of our partnership. The initiative is aimed at improvement of innovative component of our economies, at strengthening of their positions in the modern challenging world.”

It is quite likely that the summit will yield a joint statement, he added.