The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation, which entered into force in 1997 and has been extended pending its replacement by a new agreement,

–   having regard to the ongoing negotiations for a new agreement providing a new comprehensive framework for EU-Russia relations, as well as to the ‘Partnership for Modernisation’ initiated in 2010,

–   having regard to the objectives of the EU and Russia, set out in the joint statement issued following the 11th EU-Russia Summit held in St Petersburg on 31 May 2003, of setting 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 Parliament's previous reports and resolutions on Russia and on EU-Russia relations, in particular the one on the EU-Russia Summit in Rostov-on-Don adopted in June 2009,

–   having regard to the EU-Russia Consultations on Human Rights,

–   having regard to the statement by the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton of 24 May 2011, on the Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev case,

–   having regard to the joint statement of the co-chairs of the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee of 18 May 2011 in Sochi,

–   having regard to the agenda of the EU-Russia Summit to be held in Nizhny Novgorod on 9-10 June 2011,

–   having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas whereas the relations between the EU and Russia are constantly developing over the past decades, in spite of the severe effects of the economic crisis, leading to deep and comprehensive economic integration and interdependency, which is bound to increase even more in the future,

B.  whereas the conclusion of a Strategic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Russian Federation remains of the utmost importance for the further development and intensification of cooperation between the two partners,

C. whereas, one year after its inauguration during the Summit in Rostov-on-Don, on 1 June 2010, the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernisation deserves an assessment in order to further improve its effectiveness,

D. whereas the accession of the Russian Federation to the World Trade Organisation would make a substantial contribution to the further improvement of economic relations between Russia and the European Union and stimulate the investments,

E.  whereas security of energy supply is one of the biggest challenges for Europe and one of the major fields of cooperation with Russia; whereas joint efforts must be made to make full and efficient use of the energy and of the energy transportation systems, both those already existing and those to be further developed,

F.  whereas it is important that the EU to speak with one voice, show solidarity and display unity in its relations with the Russian Federation, and base those relations on mutual interests and common values,

G. whereas there remains concern about developments in the Russian Federation with regard to respect for and the protection of human rights and respect for commonly agreed democratic principles, rules and procedures; whereas the Russian Federation is a full member of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and has therefore committed itself to the principles of democracy and respect for human rights,

H. whereas the EU and Russia could and should together play an active role in establishing peace and stability in the world and on the European continent, in particular in the common neighbourhood, and work together to achieve a peaceful settlement under international law of the protracted conflicts in the common neighbourhood (in the South Caucasus and in the Republic of Moldova),

1.  Reaffirms its belief that Russia remains one of European Union's most important partners in building strategic cooperation, sharing not only economic and trade interests but also the objective of acting closely together in the common neighbourhood as well as at global level;

2.  Notes that the Summit in Nizhny Novgorod will focus on common challenges facing both the EU and Russia (such as the economic and financial crisis, the Partnership for Modernisation, WTO accession, energy and energy-security related issues, mobility and visa-free travel between EU and Russia, international and regional issues, cooperation in crisis management, human rights and rule of law);

3.  Welcomes the initiative to issue a joint progress report on the Partnership for Modernisation, one year after the establishment of this instrument at the Summit in Rostov-on-Don, aiming to identify specific projects to make the partnership a functional reality in its key areas; calls on the Commission and Russian Government to elaborate in more detail the Partnership, aiming to base Russia’s modernisation in the 21st century on democratic values and the rule of law, by building a modern diversified and dynamic economy, and by encouraging the active involvement of civil society;

4   Reiterates the EU engagement to work hard on financial consolidation and competitiveness, and strengthening the economic structures and growth in the framework of the EU 2020 strategy; notes with interest that the global economy recovery is becoming more ‘self-sustained’, although higher commodity prices were hampering further growth, as stated in the concluding remarks of the G8 meeting in Deauville; underlines its confidence the Partnership for Modernisation might promote reform and give renewed momentum to the EU-Russia relationship, develop the mutual lucrative cooperation on trade, economy and energy security, while contributing to the global economic recovery;

5.  Expresses its support for developing the future relations with Russia in a more pragmatic way, with maintained focus on concluding the new EU-Russia agreement in due time, and by concentrating on articulate practical co-operation, joint projects and implementation of commitments and agreements made so far; notes the progress in the previous rounds of talks on the new EU-Russia Agreement and calls on the parties to have an approach based on genuinely shared common values and interests;

6.  Welcomes that EU and Russia finalised in December 2010 the bilateral deal enabling Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and calls on the Commission to back Russia's candidature to WTO, considering the importance of the economic relations between the EU and Russia; welcomes the G8 countries announced intension to work closely with the Russian Government to push through Russia’s accession to the WTO in 2011; calls on the Russian authorities to adopt a stable and fair legal framework to properly regulate the business activity; stresses the importance of a well-developed judicial system and of the fight against corruption as key elements for the modernisation of the state;

7.  Regrets that the announced roadmap for visa-free travel between Russia and the EU will not be presented as planned at the upcoming EU-Russia Summit, while the roadmap document was completed in early May 2011, but needs to be approved by all the 27 Member States; reiterates the commitment for the long-term objective of visa free travel between the EU and Russia, based on a step-by-step approach focused on substance and practical progress; welcomes the decision taken in the framework of the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee to call for the establishment of a visa-free regime, as a preliminary step, for holders of passport of both the EU and Russia, born in 1989 and later;

8.  Underlines the mutual importance of energy cooperation for Russia and the EU, representing as they do a potential opportunity for further trade and economic cooperation between the EU and Russia; stresses that the principles of interdependence and transparency should be the basis of such cooperation, together with equal access to markets, infrastructure and investment; reiterates the EU interest in a balanced trilateral EU-Russia-Ukraine solution on future gas flows to the EU;

9.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to ensure that the principles of the Energy Charter Treaty and the Transit Protocol annexed thereto are included in a new Partnership Agreement between the EU and Russia; welcomes the signature in February 2011 of an updated Early Warning Mechanism to further improve the coordination in case of supply or demand emergencies; salute the agreement to set up a Gas Advisory Forum which should give input, including from industry, on developments in the Russian and European gas markets;

10. Welcomes the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s recent statement in favour of pursuing the association with the European Union for his country and maintaining opened the possibilities of further, much profound, participation in the EU integration process; regrets that Russia is trying to use fuel prices as a tempter to pull Ukraine into the customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan even as the former Soviet republic looks to deepen economic and political ties with the EU;

11. Calls on discussions on climate change, how to cooperate concretely on measures to reduce greenhouse gases, improve energy efficiency and sustainable energy development; underlines the necessity of consensus on how to move forward the international negotiations process on climate change;

12. Welcomes the Commission engagement to seek the commitment of the EU partners to highest safety standards, ambitious stress-testing of nuclear power plants and enhanced international cooperation; following the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan and caused the ongoing nuclear crisis at the plant in Fukushima, expects that the EU-Russia Summit to provide a fresh impetus in tightening international nuclear safety requirements;

13. Underlines the importance of the continuous exchange of views on human rights with Russia within the EU-Russia Human Rights Consultations as a way to consolidate our interoperability in all the fields of cooperation and demands an improvement in the format of these meetings in order to gain effectiveness, with special attention for common action against racism and xenophobia and to open this process to an effective input from the European Parliament, the State Duma and the human rights NGOs, whether the dialogue takes place in Russia or in an EU Member State; welcomes the decision of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appoint an Ambassador at large for human rights dialogue;

14. Takes note of the decision of the Moscow City Court to uphold the verdict in the Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev case, notwithstanding the slight reduction of the sentence from an additional six to five years in prison; welcome President Medvedev’s decision to examine this case in the Presidential Human Rights Council; reiterates its belief that for a genuine political, economic, and societal modernisation to take place, reforms should be undertaken in Russia toward establishing a transparent, independent and reliable judicial system, which inspires confidence and is free from political interference;

15. Takes note that the European Court of Human Rights ruled on 31 May 2011 admitting that the Khodorkovsky’s case may raise a certain suspicion as to the real intent of the authorities, accepting his claims of unlawful detention and poor treatment in jail, but it also found that Khodorkovsky had not proved that his prosecution on charges of fraud and tax evasion was politically motivated;

16. Strongly regrets that Moscow city authorities banned a gay pride march for the sixth consecutive year, despite a final ruling in April 2011 by the European Court of Human Rights obliging Russia to authorise such gatherings in the future; regrets that the European External Action Service failed to bring its public support to organisers of the parade, and calls on the President of the European Council, the High Representative/Vice-President of the Commission, and President of the Commission to voice their concern at the highest possible level during the EU-Russia Summit; expects that EU delegations and diplomats to actively implement the Toolkit to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by LGBT People in the future, including by public statements of support;

17. Calls on the Russian authorities to guarantee, in accordance with the standards assumed as Council of Europe's and OSCE's members, a free and fair process in the December 2011 parliamentary elections in order to ensure that the opposition parties have the possibility of participating in those elections and the opportunity to conduct a competitive election campaign, whilst fully respecting the principle of freedom of expression; calls on Russia to create the possibility for sufficient and efficient observation of the elections, in accordance with the OSCE/ODIHR and CoE standards;

18. Welcomes the recent position assumed by the Russian President Medvedev with regard to the chronic Libyan crisis, sharing the opinion that Gaddafi and his government have failed to fulfil their responsibility to protect the Libyan population and have lost all legitimacy; notes with interest the fact that Russia sent an envoy to the revolutionary bastion of Benghazi and shares the opinion that it is necessary to identify and implement a quick solutions to the conflict;

19. Calls on the Presidency, the Council and the Commission to pursue joint initiatives with the Russian Government aimed at strengthening security and stability in the common neighbourhood, in particular by joint actions aiming to resolve the conflict in Republic of Moldova and the exceptional issues in South Caucasus, including the implementation of all earlier commitments;

20. Calls on the Russian Federation to play a constructive role, in the framework of the United Nations, as part of the global effort to block Iran's attempts to enrich uranium and other nuclear activities aiming at building nuclear weapons;

21. Welcomes the ratification of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the Russian Federation and the US on 22nd of December 2010; calls on further comprehensive dialogue between the Russian Federation and the United States on security issues, including the establishment of the missile defence shield;

22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to Vice President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the President, Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation.