Negotiations on a new Partnership and Cooperation Treaty, long-delayed over disputes between Russia and EU members Poland and Lithuania, are set to begin at a summit in western Siberia later this month.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner told lawmakers in Moscow that the treaty must be specific and detailed, otherwise the legal obligations it puts on both sides will be rendered meaningless.
Russia has until now resisted the idea of taking on binding commitments as an energy supplier to the EU, an issue that is likely to be a focus of the upcoming talks.
On Monday, the European diplomat told official Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta that the treaty would have to include a binding energy deal based on "transparency, mutual dependency and non-discrimination."
Energy has been a major sticking point in Russia-EU ties since Russia briefly cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine, a transit nation, amid a bilateral row at the start of 2006, causing shortfalls in the EU.
Russia, which supplies over a quarter of Europe's gas, has repeatedly dismissed accusations that it uses energy as a political tool, and insists it is a reliable supplier.
Ferrero-Waldner also told the paper the pact should reflect "democratic values and respect for human rights."
She told lawmakers in the State Duma that the talks will encompass all issues in Russia-EU relations, and will serve to clarify joint goals and raise mutual trust.
The negotiations on the new partnership pact are expected to be launched at a Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiisk, Western Siberia, on June 26-27. The old agreement expired in December 2007 and was extended for a further year.
EU foreign ministers approved a mandate for talks on a deal to replace the current Partnership and Cooperation treaty on May 26.
Poland had vetoed the start of talks until late last year over Russia's imposed embargo on imports of Polish meat. Warsaw signaled its readiness to lift its veto after the two countries resolved the dispute and took steps to improve relations under the new Polish government. Russia resumed Polish meat imports in December 2007.
The Lithuanian veto had been imposed in protest against Russia's closure of the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. Lithuania also demanded that Russia pay compensation for Soviet-era deportations and called for a solution to 'frozen conflicts' in Moldova and Georgia. Lithuania lifted its veto on May 12, after the rest of the EU agreed to include the issues in the talks with Russia.
