Nice, France - The European Union and Russia are set to re-launch on December 2 talks on a strategic treaty which EU leaders froze in protest at Russia's August invasion of Georgia, officials said Friday.

The two sides' top negotiators are due to hold a fresh round of talks on December 2 in Brussels, diplomatic sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on the fringes of an EU-Russia summit in the French resort town of Nice.

Berlin  - Russia's ambassador in Germany, Vladimir Kotenyev, affirmed Friday that the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea would be built.

Speaking two days after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow would be just as ready to export its natural gas by ship, the ambassador said on ARD public television that Russia remained committed to the pipe.

"As far as Russia is concerned, this means a stable supply of gas to Europe," he said.

"Mr Putin was not making any threat," he added.

The controversy blew up as the Russians were about to meet with European Union leaders in Nice, France.

Paris/Warsaw - French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet the Dalai Lama in Poland next month, but Poland's president will not be available for talks on the EU's stalled reform treaty, officials said Thursday.

Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU's six-month presidency until December 31, is to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader at a December 6 event celebrating 25 years since former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa received the Nobel Peace Prize, officials in Paris said.

Cannes, France - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said he will "speak the same language" as European Union leaders when they attend a summit of the world's 20 greatest powers in Washington.

"Our stance on how the (world) financial architecture should look in the future corresponds ... I believe that tomorrow night in Washington we'll speak the same language. It's obvious," Medvedev told EU and Russian businessmen in the French resort of Cannes.

Oslo - Norway was set to introduce a European Union directive aimed at liberalising services despite a split in the red-green coalition, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.

"The service directive is good and important for Norway and will contribute to equal, secure and predictable rules for Norwegian companies," Stoltenberg told reporters.

Although Norway is not a member of the EU, it cooperates closely with the 27-nation bloc as member of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Brussels - European Union countries must improve their energy efficiency and stop using the financial crisis as an excuse not to reduce pollution, the bloc's top officials said Thursday.

"The financial crisis has not diminished the risks to our planet deriving from climate change," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in Brussels.