"Any time the business community sees something that impacts business and doesn't really understand why, then that's a setback because then businesses will not want to invest."Khodorkovsky, whose fortune was once estimated as high as US$15 billion, has been in jail since his October 2003 arrest when special forces stormed his private plane as it sat on the tarmac at a Siberian airport.A liberal member of parliament, Vladimir Ryzhkov, suggested Monday that Khodorkovsky's team consider filing an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights, "which will make a decision on the basis of common sense and law," the Interfax news agency reported.. Such tycoons are widely resented by ordinary Russians and demonstrators denouncing Khodorkovsky have been a daily fixture outside the courthouse during the weeks of verdict-reading.But there have also been gatherings of Khodorkovsky supporters - who say the trial was revenge for Khodorkovsky's funding of opposition parties and who say the proceedings raised substantial doubt about Russia's commitment to rule of law.Such concerns have spooked many foreign investors."It does make people concerned, leery about an environment they don't understand," U.S Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told Russian and U.S business representatives in Moscow on Tuesday. That matter had been seen as a centerpiece of the case, but the statue of limitations on it has expired and the court was expected not to impose a sentence.Khodorkovsky's lawyers are expected to appeal a guilty verdict and sentence in the 10-day period allotted under Russian law.Khodorkovsky is one of the so-called oligarchs who became enormously wealthy during the murky post-Soviet

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privatization of state industries in the 1990s. The sentence would keep him in prison well past the 2008 presidential elections and potentially during the 2012 elections as well.A third defendant in the case, Andrei Krainov, was given a five and a half year suspended sentence.After the sentences were pronounced, the court took up the final part of the case, discussing evidence and testimony regarding Apatit, a fertilizer component company in which Khodorkovsky and Lebedev allegedly acquired a large stake by rigging a privatization auction. A Moscow court today declared oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty of an array of charges including fraud and tax evasion, and sentenced him to nine years in prison minus time served. One Brussels think-tank, the Centre for European Policy Studies, believes that only a handful of proposals could be saved without a new treaty. These include creating an EU foreign minister's post and an EU diplomatic service, and a provision that means the European Commission would have to consider proposals for new laws if they are supported by a petition of a million signatures Some believe that even this is optimistic..

But hopes of streamlining decision-making and making the EU more efficient will be lost.Could anything be rescued from the constitution without a new treaty?Very little of importance. The EU has already put into effect the Nice Treaty, which allows for the enlargement that took place last year when 10 new, mainly ex-Communist countries were admitted, and for Romania and Bulgaria to join in 2007. They include the unpopularity of the President, Jacques Chirac, and of his Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin; dislike of the EU's recent enlargement and fears over Turkey's membership bid; and worries that free-market policies will cost jobs.What difference will we notice if the constitution does not come into effect?Very little. But there were several elements that can be identified, many not connected to the constitution. Other countries that have promised referendums - most notably the UK - will conclude that their prospects of a successful "yes" campaign have gone.Why did the French say "no"?The "no" alliance, between those in France who want more Europe and those who want less, make this a difficult result to analyse. It also calls into question the direction of the EU, including Turkey's hopes of joining and efforts to generate more economic growth.What happens if the Dutch vote "no" on Wednesday?It will probably put the nail in the constitution's coffin. Is this the end of Europe? Is this the end of Europe? No, but it marks a halt to further European integration, at least for the time being.

No one pretends the constitution is a perfect document, but it represents the best compromise that could be achieved in more than two years of negotiation. Without it, hopes of improving the sclerotic pace of decision-making are lost.The "no" represents a devastating psychological blow, coming from a founder member of the EU and one of the two traditional "motors" of integration. Dr Sukhinin said: "Our industry is not that large, really, so we are not polluting that much. We are lucky to have our forests and forest preservation should really be a priority."We should try to protect our forests, because they are the lungs of the planet: they absorb carbon dioxide, and it looks to me like these huge forests are currently being devoured by a powerful lung cancer.". They want to deal in carbon credits, the "currency" devised under the agreement where countries with large forests and relatively small industrial emissions - such as Russia - can sell their credits on the open market.Anatoly Sukhinin of the Sukachev Institute said that carbon trading should be exploited by Russia as a means of supporting the protection of its forests. Some senior Russian scientists said that the Kyoto agreement was part of an attempt by Western countries to stifle Russia's economic development by penalising its use of energy.However, other scientists in Russia clearly see Kyoto as an opportunity rather than a threat. This mood emerged last week during a scientific debate in Krasnoyarsk between Russian and British scientists organised by the British Council as part of its Zero Carbon City exhibition.