MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the EU-Russia summit (2011/2948(RSP))
12.12.2011
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Charles Tannock, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Marek Henryk Migalski, Geoffrey Van Orden, Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Roberts Zīle, Ryszard Czarnecki, Janusz Wojciechowski, Konrad Szymański, Adam Bielan on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0693/2011
B7‑0697/2011
European Parliament resolution on the EU-Russia summit (2011/2948(RSP))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one part, and the Russian Federation, on the other part[1], and the negotiations initiated in 2008 on a new EU-Russia agreement,
– having regard to its previous reports and resolutions on Russia and on EU-Russia relations,
– having regard to the EU-Russia human rights consultations,
– having regard to the joint statement of the Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council on Freedom, Security and Justice 11 October 2011 in Warsaw,
– having regard to the joint statements issued at the 27th EU-Russia Summit held in Nizhny Novgorod 9-10 June 2011,
– having regard to the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 6 December 2011 on the Duma elections in the Russian Federation,
– having regard to the agenda of the EU-Russia Summit on 15 December 2011,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the 4 December 2011 Russian parliamentary elections were marked by a number of significant electoral irregularities;
B. whereas only seven parties were allowed to field candidates, while the main opposition groups, including the People’s Freedom Party, were denied registration and barred from campaigning;
C. whereas numerous irregularities were reported on the election day, including multiple voting (so-called ‘bus carousels’), hindering party observers and ballot box stuffing; whereas the OSCE/ODIHR assessed the vote count as ‘bad or very bad’ in 34 out of 115 observed polling stations;
D. whereas an election-monitoring group Golos faced harassment by the authorities, including a 1000 USD fine imposed for alleged violations of electoral law and 12-hour long detention of Golos Director Lilya Shibanova at the Moscow airport on 3 December; whereas several independent or opposition media portals were targeted by hackers on the election day;
E. whereas in the aftermath of the elections, peaceful protests began in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, and hundreds of people have been detained by the police;
F. whereas, prior to the elections, government officials and representatives of local authorities exerted pressure and used threats against public servants, teachers, pensioners and students in order to guarantee their support for the United Russia;
G. whereas, as a member of the Council of Europe and of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as a signatory of the UN declarations, Russia has committed itself to protecting and promoting human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law;
H. whereas the EU and Russia cooperate on numerous bilateral and global challenges, based on joint commitments and shared interests;
I. whereas it is important for the EU to speak with one voice, show solidarity and display unity in its relations with the Russian Federation;
J. whereas in the Joint Statement on the Partnership for Modernisation (PfM) the EU and Russia stated that their developing relationship is based on a deep commitment to democratic principles, fundamental and human rights and the rule of law; whereas the PfM should serve as an integral part of a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;
K. whereas energy plays a major role in EU-Russia relations and continues to be a key instrument of Russia’s economic and foreign policy;
L. whereas President Medvedev declared the urgent need to overcome enormous corruption in Russia and made public commitment to strengthening the rule of law in Russia and raising concerns over the independence of Russia's judiciary and legal system;
M. whereas President Medvedev's Human Rights Council concluded that all Russian state bodies were actively hampering the investigation of the corruption uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky and presented the evidence of gross violations of his rights that ultimately led to his death;
N. whereas the officials assigned to reopened investigation into Sergei Magnitsky's death are the same Ministry of Interior officials who arrested and subsequently tortured him;
1. Calls on the EU and Russia to intensify negotiations on a new comprehensive and legally binding Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, encompassing all aspects of relations, including section on human rights and democracy; underlines in this regard, that the systematic failure of Russia to respect democratic principles, the rule of law and fundamental rights must be reflected in the negotiating position of the European Union as regards the work on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;
2. Expresses its profound disappointment with the conduct of the 4 December elections, marred by numerous irregularities; calls on the President of the Council, the President of the Commission, the HR/VP and the Polish EU presidency to raise the question of the 4 December elections at the Summit, sending a clear message about EU’s concerns over the conduct of elections and urging Russia to allow for a competitive, free and fair election campaign during the March 2012 presidential elections;
3. Deeply regrets that no new political parties, including the People’s Freedom Party, were allowed to register prior to the elections, and is of the opinion that such attitude of the Russian authorities seriously undermines the principle of political pluralism and freedom of association that are cornerstones of genuine democracy;
4. Reiterates the fact that since taking power in Russia by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, no elections in this country were recognised by Western observers as free and democratic;
5. Strongly condemns actions taken by the Russian authorities against 'Golos' after it has established special website for registering election fraud and irregularities;
6. Calls on the HR/VP and the Polish presidency to raise the issue of peaceful protesters detained during demonstrations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, including one of the most famous Russian bloggers Alexey Navalny; strongly condemns mass arrests and beatings by the police and calls for immediate release of those detained;
7. Reiterates its call on the HR/VP and the Commission to ensure that the discussion on human rights issues is not confined only to the bi-annual Human Rights Consultations but is addressed also on other meetings at all levels; reiterates its call on the Russian government to make sure that during the consultations it is represented not only by diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also officials from other relevant institutions, including the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Internal Affairs;
8. Calls on the Russian authorities to make real progress in remedying and preventing Russia’s widespread breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights, including not only the breaches for which the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Russia, but also the systemic and ongoing breaches that led President Dmitry Medvedev to call for action against the country’s ‘legal nihilism’;
9. Calls for the EU to adopt Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) conclusions on human rights in Russia that would highlight the EU’s concern about the persistently hostile human rights climate, including space for civil society to function without undue restrictions and the safety of human rights defenders; and rampant impunity for ongoing torture, enforced disappearances and other serious abuses in the North Caucasus and the importance of Russia’s full implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgments as a means to address these abuses;
10. Reiterates its call on EU Council to immediately impose visa sanctions and freezing bank accounts and other assets of the Russian government officials who were involved in the tax fraud and on those who played a role in Magnitsky's false arrest, torture, denial of medical care and murder in custody as well as the cover up of the crime; encourages EU law enforcement agencies to cooperate in those fields and takes note that sanctions already imposed by USA and UK contributed to the prosecution of several Russian officials believed to be connected with the death of Sergei Magnitsky;
11. Welcomes the agreement with Russian government to implement the phase out of Siberian overflight duties;
12. Welcomes the fact that Georgia and Russia have reached an agreement on outstanding bilateral issues with regard to Russia’s WTO accession, opening the prospect of Russia’s entry to the organization, which will facilitate trade and create a level playing field for business; reminds, however, that to do that Russia has to overcome wide – ranging obstacles, such as industrial subsidies, red tape, foreign investment restrictions and inadequate public health standards;
13. Calls on the Russian authorities to refrain from exerting economic and political pressure on the countries from the common EU-Russia neighbourhood; stresses the need for cooperation between the EU and Russia towards strengthening the countries of the common neighbourhood, particularly in respect to human rights and rule of law; calls on Russia to recognize the European choice for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine;
14. Calls on Russia to actively contribute to the solving of the ‘frozen conflicts’ in its neighbourhood; reiterates the need for Russia to fully implement the Six-point ceasefire agreement including the respect for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity; supports the Minsk Group in its progress regarding the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and welcomes Russian recent initiatives to give new momentum to the peace talks; welcomes the restarting of negotiations within the 5+2 format with regards to the Transnistrian conflict and takes note of the first official meeting on 1 December 2011 which hopefully will be the start of a solution to the conflict;
15. Calls on Russia on greater involvement in reaching a common position on an international level in particular with regards to North Africa and Middle East democratic changes; states that Russia veto in the UN Security Council could stop international efforts to peaceful solutions in Syria and calls on Russia to take part in coordinated approach towards Assad's regime;
16. Stresses that current situation and Iran and the development of its nuclear programme needs a decisive and coordinated approach of the international community with the active participation of Russia;
17. Stresses the importance of cooperation with Russia in the field of energy; reiterates, in the same time, that progress in forging closing relations should be coupled with the improvement of rule of law and democratic standards in Russia; calls on the Council and Commission to make sure that the principles of Energy Charter Treaty become an integral part of the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement; points out that EU should treat diversification of energy resources as its main priority and put all possible effort into finalize projects like Nabucco or AGRI; reminds in this regard that diversification means finding alternative sources of oil and gas, and not alternative routes of transporting them from Russia;
18. Notes that the Partnership for Modernisation should include not only economic and technological issues and challenges, but it also must be based on wide cooperation, especially in the areas of rule of law, protection of human rights and development of reliable legal system;
19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the 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 Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, the Government and Parliament of Georgia, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
- [1] OJ L 327, 28.11.1997, p. 1.