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
Helmut Scholz on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
B7‑0699/2011
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, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part[1], and the negotiations initiated in 2008 on a new EU-Russia agreement, as well as to the ‘Partnership for Modernisation’ initiated in 2010,
– having regard to the Commission Communications of 11 March 2003 on Wider Europe – Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours (COM(2003)0104), of 12 May 2004 on European Neighbourhood Policy – Strategy Paper (COM(2004)0373),
– having regard to the result of the Duma Elections of 4 of December and the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Election observation of the OSCE of 5 December,
– having regard to its previous reports and resolutions on Russia and on EU-Russia relations, in particular, to the one on the on the conclusions of the on the EU-Russia Summit in Nizhny Novgorod on 9-10 June 2011,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Russia is a strategic neighbour of the EU and an important political and economic factor in the region and in the international arena;
B. whereas economic and commercial relations between the EU and its Member States and Russia have been steadily developing over the past decade, leading to deep and comprehensive economic cooperation and mutual interdependency; whereas contrary the political relations remained tense;
C. whereas EU and its Member States and Russia are challenged to overcome the mistrust and to establish constructive relations, inter alia by successfully concluding the negotiations on a Strategic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Russian Federation which need a new impetus; whereas the respect of rule of law, human and democratic rights;
D. whereas the International Election observation of the OSCE concluded that:
§ the 4 December State Duma elections were technically well administered, but the elections were marked by the convergence of the State and the governing party;
§ despite the lack of a level playing field during the electoral process, voters took advantage of their right to express their choice;
§ although seven parties ran, the prior denial of registration to certain political parties narrowed political competition;
§ the contest was also slanted in favour of the ruling party as evidenced by the lack of independence of the election administration, the partiality of most media, and the undue interference of state authorities at different levels;
§ the quality of the process deteriorated considerably during the count, which was characterized by frequent procedural violations and instances of apparent manipulation, including several serious indications of ballot box stuffing;
§ the recent Duma elections did not provide the necessary conditions for fair electoral competition;
1. Reaffirms its belief that Russia remains one of the European Union’s most important partners in building strategic cooperation, sharing not only economic and trade interests but also the objective of acting together for peace and security in Europe as well as at global level;
2. Reaffirms that 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; expresses its hope that the Summit promote progress in the negotiations;
3. Reiterates its support for the Partnership for Modernization as a step to give to the development of the strategic relations a new impetus; deplores that so far only limited results have been achieved in the implementation of the project;
4. Underlines that both Russia and the EU Member States are Members of the Council of Europe and have committed themselves to respect and implement the principles of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law; calls on both sides to strictly respect the obligations in these areas;
5. Deplores the rather limited results of the human rights dialogue between the EU and Russia; takes the view that the participation of the Parliaments and of actors of the civil society would give to this dialogue an important impetus;
6. Deplores that the outcome of the elections remains controversial; expresses deep concern about the reports on manipulation of the vote count; notes the ongoing protests of Russian citizens who call for a transparent investigation on the falsification allegations; calls on President Medwedjew to implement his announcement meet this demand; expects this investigation to be transparent;
7. Calls on the Russian authorities to provide for the necessary condition for free and fair presidential elections in March 2012;
8. Calls on the Russian authorities to fully respect freedom of assembly in accordance with Russia’s Constitution and its international obligations;
9. Expresses deep concern about the cyber attacks against independent news and other websites; calls on the Russian authorities to guarantee freedom of expression and media and to end the state actions against critical media and internet fora;
10. Expresses concern about the recent announcement of the possible passing of a homophobic regional law in Saint-Petersburg assembly, banning ‘advertisement of homosexuality’ and throwing people into confusion between homosexuality and pedophilia, and about the follow-up statements of some prominent figures of Muscovite political circles discussing the opportunity of such a law at the federal level.
11. Condemns NATO enlargement and the deployment of new ballistic and anti-ballistic missile systems in Europe; considers the recent decision to retaliate and to deploy new weapon systems in Kaliningrad as counterproductive; expresses deep concern about the danger of a new arms race in Europe;
12. Reminds that the European people strongly resist the deployment of such systems in Europe; calls on those EU Member States who have accepted the deployment of components of a new anti-missile system on their territory to recall this decision and to dismantle these military systems; deeply deplores the failure of the talks between NATO and Russia to solve the anti ballistic missile controversy; calls for the start of result oriented negotiations which meet the position of the European citizens; urgently calls on the EU to make the solution of the controversy on the anti-ballistic missile system in Europe a priority of its dialogue with the US and Russia with a view to prevent a new arms race in Europe;
13. Reminds that a partnership is based on common security; calls for an end of any actions on the European continent to put through unilateral security interests on the European continent and to stop the acceleration of rearmament and counter-measures linked to this; calls on the EU Member States to end the neglectance of the Medvedev proposal for concluding a common pan-European security treaty, to be discussed within the framework of the OSCE;
14. Calls for close cooperation between the EU and Russia with regard to the international negotiations on a comprehensive post-2012 climate policy framework under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol; urges the Russian Federation to step up its contribution to addressing climate change through domestic greenhouse gas reductions and especially by improving energy efficiency;
15. Reiterates its position in favour of renewable energy and calls for the safe decommissioning of Russia’s first-generation nuclear reactors, which pose a threat to lives both in Russia and in neighbouring countries; calls on the EU Commission to finance research cooperation programs in this area;
16. Notes the agreement reached between Georgia and the Russian Federation on Russian accession to the WTO, notes that the accession of Russia to the WTO will have profound consequences for the economic and social development of Russia;
17. Notes that cooperation in the energy sector between the EU and Russia offers the prospect of a win-win situation if the relations are based on the principles of mutual respect of interests, transparency and reciprocity; calls on the two sides to give more emphasis to energy efficiency, energy saving and renewable energy; stresses that energy must be considered a public good;
18. Notes the results of the first meetings of the civil society forum; calls on both sides to undertake further initiatives to promote people-to-people contacts, in particular exchange of students and scientists; demands to improve the possibilities for Russian students and academics to make use of EU exchange programmes;
19. Reiterates the commitment for the long-term objective of visa free travel between the EU and Russia; notes the results of the negotiation on visa facilitation, but stresses that there is a need for more ambitious visa facilitation negotiations;
20. Supports the EU-Russia agreement to enlarge the application zone of the border free zone between Poland and the Kaliningrad region from 30 km to 105 km;
21. Calls on the EU and Russia to initiate negotiations with the United States and Canada, with full participation of the region’s indigenous peoples an international treaty for the protection of the Arctic, along the lines of the existing Antarctic Treaty, in order to make the Arctic a zone of peace and cooperation reserved solely for peaceful activities; given the vulnerability of the Arctic environment stresses the urgent need to establish, as a first step, a 50-year moratorium on any exploration or expansion of mineral resource extraction in the region, including an agreement of compensation to the least developed nations;
22. Calls on both partners who are Members of the Quartet to bring about pressure on Israel to end any settlement activity and to start seriously negotiating a two-state solution of the Middle East conflict, based on the 1967 borders and Jerusalem as capital of both states, with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security;
23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
- [1] OJ L 327, 28.11.1997, p. 1.