The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Communities and their Member States and the Russian Federation, which entered into force in 1997 and expires in 2007,

–  having regard to the objective of the EU and Russia, set out in the joint statement issued following the St Petersburg Summit held on 31 May 2003, to set up a common economic space, a common space of freedom, security and justice, a common space of cooperation in the field of external security and a common space of research and education, including cultural aspects,

–  having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its five protocols, and having regard to the EU-Russia consultations on human rights,

–  having regard to the many credible reports by Russian and international NGOs on the continuing violations of human rights in Chechnya,

–  having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Council and the European Parliament of 10 January 2007 entitled 'An Energy Policy for Europe' (COM(2007)0001),

–  having regard to its resolution of 23 March 2006 on security of energy supply in the European Union,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia, and in particular those of

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the EU-Russia Summit will be held in Mafra on 26 October 2007,

B.  whereas relations between the EU and Russia have been steadily developing over the past few years, leading to economic integration and interdependence, which are bound to increase even more in the near future,

C.  whereas the Russian Federation is a member of the Council of Europe and thus has committed itself to that body's shared values, objectives and commitments, as laid down in its Statute and conventions, and in particular to promoting democracy and consolidating democratic stability in Europe,

D.  whereas the conclusion of a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the Russian Federation is of the utmost importance for their future cooperation, in particular with regard to the further development of economic relations, to the further enhancement of security and stability in Europe and to the further strengthening of respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law as the basis of that cooperation,

E.  whereas democracy has been weakened in Russia, in particular by the bringing of all major TV stations and most radio stations under government control, the spread of self-censorship among the print media, new restrictions on the right to organise public demonstrations, the worsening climate for NGOs, harassment of human rights activists, killings of prominent opponents of the Russian Government and increased political control of the judiciary, whilst serious human rights violations in the form of murder, enforced disappearance, torture, hostage-taking and arbitrary detention are still going on in the Chechen Republic,

F.  whereas the underlying principles governing economic and trade relations between the EU and the Russian Federation should be reciprocity, transparency, predictability, reliability, non-discrimination and good governance,

G.  whereas Poland has blocked the start of the negotiations on the new framework agreement, making it conditional upon Moscow lifting a ban on Polish meat imports introduced in 2005 and extended in 2006,

H.  whereas despite the Commission's efforts Russia has not lifted the embargo on meat imports from Poland and the Russian agricultural authorities have also recently threatened to ban Polish fruit and vegetable imports,

I.  whereas the declaration of European solidarity issued at the May summit in Samara was an important sign for Russia that the era of bilateral relations with large EU Member States is over and that the voice of smaller countries is equally important in the development of relations with Russia,

J.  whereas at the last EU-Russia Summit in May German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Commission voiced solidarity with Poland in connection with the ban on Polish meat imports and criticised Russia on human rights,

K.  whereas the decision by the Russian Government to increase timber export duties as of 1 July 2007 is at odds with the efforts by the WTO to promote and liberalise world trade,

L.  whereas security of energy supply is one of the biggest challenges for Europe and one of the major areas of cooperation with Russia, and whereas the EU imports approximately a quarter of its gas and oil from Russia and is the most reliable consumer of Russian exports,

M.  whereas Russian is opposed to independence for Kosovo and Moscow is demanding further negotiations between Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians,

1.  Reaffirms its conviction that Russia remains an important partner for pragmatic cooperation with which the EU shares not only economic and trade interests, but also the objective of cooperating closely in the international arena as well as in the common neighbourhood;

2.  Recalls its previous resolutions on Russia and regrets the almost complete lack of positive developments since the previous summit, including no progress on the issue of negotiations on the new PCA with Russia;

3.  Emphasises once again that the current situation in Russia remains a matter of serious concern in terms of respect for human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, xenophobia, racism, the situation of ethnic minorities, the independence of NGOs and the rights of civil society and individuals to challenge the authorities and hold them accountable for their actions;

4.  Regrets the breakdown of the negotiations with the Russian Government on the lifting of Russia's ban on imports of Polish agricultural products and the subsequent failure to launch negotiations on a new PCA between the EU and Russia; regrets the almost complete lack of positive developments since the previous Summit and urges the Russian Government urgently to reconsider those actions which have been taken and which have prevented further negotiations; encourages the Portuguese Presidency to continue its efforts to enable the negotiating mandate for a new agreement to be adopted as soon as possible and to start negotiations without further delay;

5.  Reminds the Council and Commission that the EU negotiates as a single entity, on the basis of solidarity between all Member States, and reaffirms that the PCA may not be qualified by bilateral negotiations;

6.  Welcomes, therefore, the common line taken by the EU in the negotiations with Moscow on the lifting of Russia's ban on Polish meat exports; highlights the fact that this sanction was based on forged and manipulated veterinary documents, since, according to investigations carried out by EU departments, Polish meat meets EU standards;

7.  Calls on Russia to immediately lift the embargo on imports from Poland so as to remove a serious obstacle to the resumption of the PCA negotiations with the EU;

8.  Is concerned by the concept of 'sovereign democracy' as it establishes de facto recognition of non-reciprocity;

9.  Unequivocally calls on the Russian side to accept the principle of the rule of law, notably of international law, and the implementation of agreements already signed, for example the Energy Charter Treaty;

10.  Welcomes the continuous exchange of views on human rights in Russia as part of the EU-Russia human rights consultations; regrets, however, that the EU-Russia human rights dialogue itself has brought about no progress and calls on the Russian Government to contribute to the intensification of these consultations as an essential part of the EU-Russia partnership;

11.  Emphasises the importance of Russia joining the WTO and is convinced that WTO membership will send an important signal to foreign investors, boost economic growth in Russia and enhance trade with the EU; underlines, however, that the discriminatory economic policy pursued towards the EU and its Member States, as seen in the decision by the Russian Government to increase timber export duties, violates WTO principles;

12.  Emphasises the importance of enhanced dialogue with Russia on energy issues with a view to ensuring both security of supply and security of demand in the context of increased energy interdependence; stresses that this cooperation must be based on the principles laid down in the Energy Charter Treaty and on reciprocity concerning investment, market and infrastructure access; calls for the European Union to speak to Russia with one voice on these sensitive matters;

13.  Expresses its concern that the Russian State-controlled media often engages in defamatory propaganda campaigns against some Member States in an effort to undermine the unity and solidarity of the EU Member States;

14.  Condemns the activities of the government-controlled youth movement 'Nashi', which has, inter alia, harassed and attacked diplomatic representatives of Member States and whose activities are also spreading to the Member States;

15.  Calls on the Russian authorities to guarantee a free and fair process for the Duma elections in December 2007 and the presidential elections in March 2008 in order to ensure that opposition candidates have the right to run for election and opposition parties have the opportunity to campaign; stresses that freedom of the media will be of key importance if the elections are to be seen as free and fair;

16.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe.