Pierre Vimont speaks about France's goals during its EU Presidency. To view the two-part interview, click the photo above for part one, or the following links: PART 1, PART 2.

In view of soaring energy costs, the European Union will work to build parnerships with Russia and Mediterranean countries, important oil and gas suppliers to Europe, France's ambassador to the U.S. said in Atlanta.

Ambassador Pierre Vimont told GlobalAtlanta in a video interview that his government would pursue these parnerships beginning in July when France assumes the EU presidency for six months.

Mr. Vimont was visiting Georgia's capital May 27 for an annual meeting of France's 10 consulates in the U.S.

The presidency rotates between the 27 EU countries and sets policy for the European Parliament. Slovenia held the post in the first half of 2008.

The French presidency comes at a challenging time as energy prices continue to rise.  As Mr. Vimont visited Atlanta, French fishermen, angry over rising costs, staged protests that blocked docks and government oil supplies.  Over the next several days, the protests spread to Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

In another test of the EU’s unity, Ireland is to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, an agreement designed to strengthen the union’s lawmakers that must be ratified by each country, June 12.

Mr. Vimont said that cooperation with Russia is necessary because of the energy resources it exports to EU countries through the Mediterranean.  Russia is the second-largest supplier of crude oil to France behind Norway, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration.

“We’ve had in the past some difficulties with them in the transport and deliveries of the Russian gas so we are at the moment going through discussions with the Russians,” he said.

The EU-Russia relationship has been strained in recent years over energy issues and squabbles between Russia and individual member states, but EU ministers agreed May 26 to begin negotiations on a strategic pact with the Moscow government.

Mr. Vimont added that though nearly 80 percent of France’s energy needs are filled by nuclear power, rising oil prices are affecting people there.  Gasoline is already more expensive in Europe than in the U.S. because of heavier taxes.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said May 27 that lowering the value-added tax on oil might be one way of lowering prices and that he would work through the EU to do so.

Mr. Vimont said that some EU ministers feel that energy security and other issues can be addressed by revitalizing the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, or Barcelona Process, which has worked for greater partnership between the EU countries and ten Mediterranean governments since 1995.

The 10 non-EU parties to the Barcelona Process are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.

That agreement’s goals include establishing a free trade area in the Mediterranean and developing cultural exchange programs, but the ambassador said it has not been as active as possible in pursuing these aims.

Greater partnership with the Mediterranean countries comes from Mr. Sarkozy’s “Union for the Mediterranean” idea, which Mr. Vimont said would work for cooperation in energy supply, environmental protection, immigration, transportation and terrorism issues between countries in south Europe, north Africa and the Middle East.

“We need to find a new momentum given to the Barcelona Process.  The Union for the Mediterranean would create more concrete proposals on both sides to work on a clear partnership with our partners in the south of the Mediterranean,” he said.

“It won’t be anymore the Europeans pushing their ideas and forcing the Mediterranean countries to follow suit.  We will have a clear dialogue focusing on both sides being equal around the Mediterranean.”

Mr. Vimont added that the union is to eventually have defined institutions and a secretariat and is to provide for annual summits between members’ leaders.