MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
28.5.2008
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Jan Marinus Wiersma, Hannes Swoboda and Adrian Severin
on behalf of the PSE Group
on the situation in Georgia
B6‑0290/2008
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Georgia
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Georgia of October 2006 and November 2007 and to its resolution of 15 November 2007 on strengthening the European Neighbourhood Policy,
– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part, which entered into force on 1 July 1999,
– having regard to the ENP Action Plan endorsed by the EU-Georgia Cooperation Council on 14 November 2006,
– having regard to the Council Conclusions on the ENP of 18 February 2008,
– having regard to the UN Security Council resolution of 15 April 2008, which supports the territorial integrity of Georgia and extends the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia until 15 October 2008,
– having regard to the recommendations adopted by the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee on 29-30 April 2008,
– having regard to the Conclusions of the External Relations Council meeting of 26-27 May 2008 on the tension between Georgia and Russia,
– having regard to the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission to Georgia of 21 May 2008,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the European Union is strongly committed to further strengthening its relations with Georgia; whereas the European Union therefore gives its full support to the peaceful and stable development of Georgia as an independent state, to the economic, social and political development of Georgia, as well as to the further development of its democratic institutions, the full observance of democratic standards and procedures and the full respect for the rule of law in the country,
B. whereas the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on 16 April 2008 that the Russian Federation has decided to increase economic and humanitarian cooperation with the authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, establishing closer legal ties and lifting trade sanctions without the consent of the Georgian government,
C. whereas on 20 April a Georgian reconnaissance drone was shot down over Abkhazia and since that incident Abkhazia has claimed to have shot down two more; whereas the recent report by UNOMIG on the incident indicates that the reconnaissance drone was shot down by a Russian aircraft; whereas the report also states that Georgia should stop sending these reconnaissance drones over Abkhazian territory,
D. whereas in May Russia deployed further troops and moved heavy artillery into Abkhazia under the auspices of a CIS-sanctioned peacekeeping mission, and announced its intention to establish 15 additional check-points along the administrative boundary-line,
E. whereas the Abkhaz authorities rejected a peace initiative by President Saakashvili which sought to reach a negotiated settlement to the conflict; whereas under this initiative Abkhazia was offered broad autonomy in exchange for recognising Tbilisi’s rule, and the newly-created post of Georgian Vice President would have been given to an Abkhaz official who would have had veto power over legislation affecting the region,
F. whereas on 15 May 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution upholding the rights of hundreds of thousands of Georgian refugees and internally displaced people who have been uprooted by war to return to Abkhazia,
G. whereas Russia’s granting of citizenship to Abkhazians and South Ossetians, enabling them to take advantage of the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement, is increasingly becoming a source of frustration for Georgia as a similar agreement with the EU is not yet in place,
H. whereas Georgia threatened to block Russia’s WTO accession in protest at Russia’s decision to step up cooperation with the separatist regions, amid existing tensions over the negative effect on the economy of the continued Russian ban on Georgian wine and other agricultural products,
I. whereas despite the concrete and substantial progress that has been made towards improving Georgia’s electoral system and towards adopting and applying procedures in line with international standards, the conduct of the parliamentary elections on 21 May 2008 showed that many problems still remain with regard to Georgia’s democratic development,
J. whereas public demonstrations have taken place, organised by the opposition objecting against the conduct of the parliamentary elections, and whereas two opposition parties have declared that they will not occupy their seats in the newly-elected parliament in protest,
K. whereas the European Union remains committed to further developing and deepening its relations with Georgia and supports the necessary political and economic reforms, measures to establish solid and efficient democratic institutions and efforts to tackle corruption, thereby creating a peaceful and prosperous Georgia that can contribute to stability in the region and the rest of Europe,
1. Expresses its deep concern about recent events which have created serious tensions in relations between Russia and Georgia; calls on all parties to show restraint, to tone down statements and engage in a constructive dialogue in order to defuse these tensions and to find a solution to the current volatile situation;
2. Deeply regrets the decision by Russia to establish legal ties with the Abkhaz authorities, a decision which could be seen as a kind of recognition of the international self-determination of that region, and does not contribute towards finding a peaceful solution to the Abkhaz conflict;
3. Is of the opinion that the unilateral decision to increase the number of Russian peacekeeping troops in Abkhazia, even if it is done within the international agreed margins, was unnecessary in the present circumstances and therefore generated tensions between Georgia and Russia, regrettably deepening the mistrust and the inflammatory rhetoric between the two states;
4. Considers that progress in Georgia towards a pluralist democracy and the elimination of the democratic deficit would contribute towards solving the frozen conflicts in the region;
5. Encourages Georgia to conduct a foreign policy which implements a clear vision of productive neighbourhood relationships;
6. Supports the efforts that have been made to calm the situation through talks between the High Representative for the CFSP, President Saakashvili and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov; urges the special envoy for the South Caucasus to find ways to facilitate a dialogue between all parties concerned, and to try to restore a degree of mutual confidence;
7. Calls on the Council to raise the matter at the EU-Russia Summit in June;
8. Supports Georgia’s aspirations to speed up the process of integration with the European Union;
9. Notes the generally positive assessment of the parliamentary elections on 21 May and the findings of the Election Observation Mission, which identified some areas of implementation as being ’uneven and incomplete’; urges the government to make further improvements to resolve all the outstanding problems;
10. Urges the Georgian government and the opposition forces to work together to improve the polarized political climate in order to establish a truly democratic political culture and build up the trust of the public;
11. Calls on the Council and the Commission to speed up the opening of negotiations on the EU-Georgia visa regime in order to conclude the visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Georgia in the near future;
12. Reiterates its commitment to the principles of Georgia’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and calls on the Council and the Commission to continue their efforts to support the search for a peaceful and negotiated settlement to the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflicts;
13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Member States, the President and Parliament of Georgia, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the President and Parliament of the Russian Federation.