MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
6.12.2006
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Hélène Flautre, Milan Horáček, Bart Staes and Rebecca Harms
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
on the EU-Russia Summit
B6‑0631/2006
European Parliament resolution on the EU-Russia Summit
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Russian Federation, particularly those of 25 October 2006 and 26 May 2005,
– having regard to the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which entered into force on 1 December 1997,
– having regard to the fourth round of EU-Russia Human Rights Consultations held on 8 November 2006,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas relations between the EU and Russia have been steadily growing over the past few years, leading to deep and comprehensive economic integration and interdependency, which is bound to increase even more in the near future,
B. whereas the four Common Space Road Maps agreed in May 2005 constitute a basis upon which to further develop bilateral relations, thus exploiting the potential of the partnership,
C. having regard to the present Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Russia, which entered into force in 1997 and is due to expire in 2007; whereas both parties have expressed their interest and willingness in negotiating a more ambitious agreement,
D. stressing, though, that a genuine strategic partnership must be based on shared common values, which at present is not the case,
E. pointing out that the EU needs a robust and unified policy vis-à-vis Russia, which allows cooperation and at the same time holds Russia to account for all the commitments it has entered into, which encompass a wide range of issues,
F. regretting the discriminatory trade measures adopted or threatened by the Russian Federation towards some present and future EU Member States and common neighbouring countries, which appear to be politically motivated rather than technical,
G. deeply concerned at the substantial deterioration of Russian democracy, in particular through the growth of government control over major TV and radio stations, the spread of self-censorship among the print media, the closure of independent media, restrictions on the right to organise public demonstrations and a worsening climate for NGOs, with cases of harassment of human rights defenders and increased political control of the judiciary,
H. highly shocked at the wave of killings and mysterious assassinations of journalists and other personalities, particularly those of Anna Politkovskaya on 7 October in Moscow and Aleksander Litvinenko, a former FSB agent who died on 23 November 2006 in a London hospital after being poisoned with a radioactive substance,
I. stressing that so far the EU-Russia human rights consultation has led to no substantial progress in this field, which should be a priority in EU-Russia relations,
J. whereas the Russian authorities are still refusing to sign the Energy Charter Treaty, declaring their willingness to take on board its basic principles in the future partnership agreement; whereas President Putin has publicly called on the EU not to fear being too dependent on Russia with regard to energy,
1. Regrets the failure of the Council to approve a common position on a mandate to launch negotiations for a new partnership agreement with the Russian Federation, in spite of the efforts made by the Finnish Presidency to reach a compromise;
2. Recalls, in this regard, that compromise is one of the fundamental elements of the EU construction and its success; calls, therefore, on the Member States to act even-handedly and to limit the use of their veto to exceptional and emergency situations;
3. Reiterates its view that at present EU-Russia relations can only be of a pragmatic nature, since they have failed to meet all the undertakings and obligations included in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;
4. Welcomes the conclusion of the negotiations on the phasing-out of charges for overflying Siberia, which put an end to years of discrimination towards European air-carriers;
5. Supports the declaration on the Northern Dimension Policy, which states the firm commitment to cooperate actively in the region on the basis of good-neighbourliness, equal partnership, common responsibility and transparency;
6. Calls on the Russian authorities to lift the ban on imports of meat and other farm products from Poland; welcomes the announcement by President Putin about the lifting of the ban on the importing of Moldovan products, and urges him to do the same in the case of Georgian ones;
7. Regrets that the fourth round of EU-Russia Human Rights Consultations has led to no substantial progress in this field, which should be a priority in bilateral relations, and also that, at the EU-Russia Summit, human rights questions were the object of a mere expression of concern without any tangible result,
8. Urges the Council and Commission to press the Russian authorities in a more effective and credible way on the systematic intimidation, harassment and murder of independent journalists and human rights defenders, as well as other persons critical of the present weak and ailing democracy;
9. Calls on the Russian authorities to give their fullest cooperation to the British authorities investigating the case of Aleksander Litvinenko;
10. Reiterates its call for a stepping-up of the EU-Russia Human Rights Consultation so as to make it more effective, open to NGOs, with the full involvement of the European Parliament at all levels, and result-oriented, with a view to strengthening this element in the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;
11. Takes the view that an open and constructive dialogue between the EU and Russia on the rights of the Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic Republics and how to provide non‑discrimination and equal opportunities for all could be a useful way to prevail upon Russia to make progress in the field of human rights;
12. Expresses its deep concern at the latest reports by international human rights organisations and UN experts about the use of torture in Russian prisons and police stations and in secret detention centres in Chechnya, which include inhumane and degrading acts committed by public officials; strongly condemns such practices and calls on the Russian authorities to investigate the abuses, put an immediate end to any misconduct and bring the perpetrators to justice;
13. Urges the Council to start a thoroughgoing reflection about future relations with the Russian Federation, involving the European Parliament and civil society, with a view to placing democracy, human rights and freedom of expression at the core of any future agreement and setting up a clear mechanism to monitor the implementation of all the clauses of such an agreement, including the definition of a suspension clause;
14. Calls on the Russian Federation to stop importing nuclear waste and becoming the worldwide nuclear waste end-station;
15. Urges the Russian Federal Government to ensure that the expert environmental assessment which is a legal requirement under Russian legislation is carried out in the process of taking decisions about lifetime prolongation of nuclear power plants, with the acknowledgement that extending the life of nuclear plants beyond their intended lifespan is inherently dangerous;
16. Expresses its concerns regarding the security of the nuclear power plants the Russian Federation sells to other countries and the proliferation of nuclear material through those nuclear plants;
17. Calls on the Russian Federation to stop shipments of unirradiated, separated plutonium and plutonium-bearing materials, as well as nuclear reprocessing, since these activities constitute potential proliferation risks;
18. Calls on the Russian Federation to guarantee full and free access to its energy market, as well as to its gas and oil resources;
19. Calls on the Russian Federation to invest heavily in energy efficiency measures, given the urgency of the climate change issue and the pressure on energy supplies;
20. Urges the Russian Federation not to use its energy supplies to third countries, especially the EU Member States, as a political weapon;
21. Calls on the Russian Federation to guarantee high environmental standards for all the oil and gas projects which are in progress or planned on its territory;
22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Parliaments and Governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, and the Council of Europe.