MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
7.11.2007
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Graham Watson, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, Marco Cappato, István Szent-Iványi and Janusz Onyszkiewicz
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the outcome of the 10th EU-Russia Summit in Mafra, 26 October 2007
B6‑0434/2007
European Parliament resolution on the outcome of the 10th EU-Russia Summit in Mafra, 26 October 2007
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in 1997 and is set to expire in 2007,
– having regard to the EU-Russia human rights consultations,
– having regard to the European Parliament’s previous reports and resolutions on Russia and on EU-Russia relations, in particular the report of 4 May 2005 by Cecilia Malmström, the resolutions on previous EU-Russia summits, the resolution of 25 October 2006 on EU-Russia relations following the murder of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the resolution of 26 April 2007 on recent repression of demonstrations in Russia and the resolution of 19 June 2007 on EU economic and trade relations with Russia,
– having regard to the outcome of the 10th EU-Russia summit held in Mafra on 26 October 2007,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the European Union continues to be committed to further deepening and developing relations between the European Union and Russia,
B. whereas EU-Russia relations are facing a number of serious challenges which are not of the EU’s making, notably as regards the widespread concern over democracy and human rights in Russia, over the independence of the judiciary, over increased control of the media, over the inability of the Russian police and judicial authorities to find those responsible for murders of journalists, over repressive measures taken against the opposition and over the selective application of law by the authorities,
C. whereas the European Union must speak with one voice in its relations with Russia and base its relations with Russia on solidarity and adherence to the EU’s values, despite Russia’s insistence on focusing on bilateral relations with some of the EU Member States,
D. whereas the current EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement is set to expire in 2007 and whereas joint efforts are continuing with a view to removing the obstacles of the Russian import ban on certain food products and the problems concerning the Druzhba pipeline and to launching the negotiations for a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement,
E. whereas the forthcoming Duma and presidential elections are of crucial importance for the development of democracy and the rule of law in Russia,
F. whereas economic and trade relations between the EU and Russia are steadily growing, increasing the mutual interdependency between the EU and Russia and the need to find solutions to a number of issues,
1. Welcomes the holding of bi-annual EU-Russia summits as an opportunity for high-level talks between the Russian leadership and the Presidency-in-Office and EU officials but notes that EU-Russia relations need to be further developed and deepened in order to correspond to the stated objective of a ‘strategic partnership’;
2. Expresses its support for developing future relations with Russia in a more pragmatic way, with a sustained focus on the Four Common Spaces and on the need for a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, and by focusing on concrete cooperation, joint projects and implementation of the commitments and agreements made so far;
3. Points out that while EU-Russia relations should be based on ‘common values’, such as democracy, the rule of law and respect for human and fundamental rights, the current situation in Russia gives rise to serious concern as regards its commitment and ability to abide by these principles and values, in particular as regards respect for human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, the rights of civil society and individuals to challenge and hold the authorities accountable for their action and for the opposition to take full part in a truly democratic process;
4. Notes that this authoritarian tendency is accompanied by a growing economy and improving living standards for an increasing number of Russians; underlines, however, that the legitimacy of the Russian leadership, inside and outside the country, is dependent on its adherence to the international obligations the country has signed up to and its ability to abide by and implement these obligations on all levels;
5. Welcomes the holding of the first Permanent Council on Culture on the eve of the summit and reiterates its support for further emphasis on people-to-people contacts, cultural exchange and cooperation in the fields of culture, education and research, and in this respect welcomes the progress on visa facilitation as a first step towards easier travel between the EU and Russia;
6. Stresses the importance of unity and solidarity among the Member States of the European Union in its relations with Russia;
7. Points out that while the negotiations on the new agreement should commence as soon as possible, the European Parliament will continue to monitor developments within Russia on human rights and democracy, freedom of the media and assembly and on the possibilities for the opposition to take full part in a truly democratic process, in particular the possibilities for political parties to take full part in free and fair elections; the development of these issues will be taken into account throughout the negotiation process;
8. Regrets that the Russian authorities have limited international observation of the forthcoming Duma elections by issuing late and a very limited number of invitations; calls on the Russian election authorities to cooperate fully with the election observers who will be in place for election day;
9. Calls for a stepping-up of the EU-Russia human rights dialogue and for this process to be opened up to effective input from the European Parliament, the State Duma and civil society and human rights organisations; calls for the situation of minorities within Russia to be included on the agenda of the human rights dialogue; calls on Russia to fully respect its obligations as a member of the Council of Europe, including respecting the right of association and the right to peaceful demonstration;
10. Points out that energy cooperation must be based on the principles of the Energy Charter, which must be incorporated into the new framework agreement between the EU and Russia in order to ensure transparent and fair mutual investment conditions, equal access and a rule-based market; underlines that also in this field a united EU approach is needed, and that, for example, the planned Baltic pipeline cannot be regarded as a purely bilateral matter between Russia and Germany;
11. Reiterates its support for Russian membership of the WTO, which will allow Russia to come to terms with the rule-based global market; calls on Russia to respect agreements made with the EU in the run-up to its WTO accession, for example on the tax on timber exports and on other trade issues, and to make further efforts to remove the last hurdles to WTO membership;
12. Calls on the Council and the Commission to redouble their efforts to resolve the problems in crossing EU-Russian borders, to engage in concrete projects and to make full use of the new Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument and the INTERREG funds for cross-border cooperation;
13. Notes Russia’s concern over the plans for a missile-defence system based in Europe and calls on the Council to take a more active role in the on-going talks between the US, NATO, Russia and certain EU Member States on this issue; calls on Russia to return to full respect for the Treaty on Conventional Arms in Europe;
14. Underlines that Russia’s position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, its membership of the G8 and its commitment to multilateralism demand a constructive engagement from Russia in the search for solutions to international issues such as global warming, nuclear proliferation, the Middle East and Kosovo;
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States and of the Russian Federation.