BERLIN, April 29 (UPI) -- The European Union hopes to soon finish weaving the fabric of a new partnership agreement with Russia amid continuing differences with Moscow over energy security and foreign policy.

Tuesday's meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg is expected to see the adoption of "negotiating directives" for a new EU-Russia cooperation agreement, the existing one having been in dire need of an update for years.

These directives would then set the EU-Russian negotiations over the future of bilateral relations on a more formal footing, and hopefully culminate in the official launch of talks at the EU-Russia summit in Siberia in late June, when incoming Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will make his debut on the international political stage.

While European officials are upbeat about the prospect of dealing with the progressive Medvedev, inside the EU the hurdles to a successful launch of the talks remain high.

Over the past year a Polish-Russian trade had stalled EU-Russia talks; Warsaw dropped its blocking strategy last month, promising it would not veto an EU-Russia deal, but on Monday Lithuania surfaced as yet another potential stumbling block.