Din of hostile talk, which is commonly considered in Russia to be driven by economic interests and only disguised by "values", simply reinforces a belief that "the Europe", meaning Brussels, is so hypocritical it could not be trusted even to follow its own interests in any future negotiations. Which doesn't help in talks, unless one side's position is much stronger and the other just gives up. And explains why Russia prefers to talk to the governments. For example, Merkel's announcement that Russian money is welcome in EADS but that control would not be shared proportionally is opportunistic and arrogant, but clear, understandable from the economic point of view, and can be an issue for negotiations. Mandelson's attempt to separate politics from trade policy (today's FT) is also quite welcome, but I'm afraid he cannot follow through on his beliefs.

Plus, in the policy and expert circles in Russia, continental European economic model is looked at through FT or WSJ-colored lenses, which means less long-term incentive to get closer to the EU...