The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on the danger of nuclear pollution in the successor states of the former Soviet Union,

A.  deeply shocked by the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk in the Arctic Barents Sea on 12 August 2000 and the loss of the lives of 118 seamen,

B.  concerned about possible radiation leaks from the nuclear-powered submarine,

C.  highly aware of the ecological danger posed by at least 110 laid-up nuclear submarines with 135 nuclear reactors with spent fuel in 72 submarines whose reactors could poison the Arctic with radioactive material,

D.  regretting the fact that Russia's President Putin and the Russian Government gave no information about the accident for four days and subsequently withheld many facts, which compromised an international rescue operation and also gave a wrong impression of the nuclear threat to the Barents Sea and its European neighbours,

E.  deeply worried by the ongoing charges against Alexander Nikitin, an ex-naval officer and former prisoner of conscience who denounced the ecological threat to the region and was subsequently accused of leaking state secrets; and by the harassment of environmental scientists and the media,

1.  Shares the deep mourning of the families of the victims, who suffered not only from the disaster itself but also from the way the Russian authorities dealt with it, as a result of their poor information policy;

2.  Thanks the Russian, British and Norwegian experts who took great risks in trying to rescue the crew of the Kursk ;

3.  Calls upon the Russian authorities to take seriously the ecological danger posed by disused nuclear submarines in the region and to lay them up more safely;

4.  Calls upon the Russian authorities to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the wreck, and a proper risk assessment in cooperation with a civilian institution in Russia and international experts before taking the decision to lift the Kursk from the seabed;

5.  Urges the Russian authorities to use all the resources available, including their own specialists on the subject;

6.  Calls upon the Commission to increase aid earmarked for Russia to decommission its ageing nuclear submarine fleet in the wake of the Kursk disaster;

7.  Urges the Commission to do everything it can, in international cooperation and regulatory assistance programmes, to ensure that the Russian spent nuclear fuel facilities do not pose any threat to man or the environment;

8.  Calls on the Commission to participate actively in the work and meetings of the Arctic Council, which provides an ideal forum for coordinated action on issues of this kind in the Arctic region;

9.  Calls upon the Council and Member States, taking into consideration the fact that the EU's budget does not have the necessary funds, to reflect on the possibilities for financing assistance to the former Soviet Union Republics in order to make our common environment safe;

10.  Stresses the need for joint Russian-Western agreements on rescue operations, including those involving military (naval) accidents;

11.  Calls for the inclusion of military (naval) installations in existing agreements on reciprocal warning in cases of accident or incident involving nuclear installations;

12.  Urges the Russian authorities to stop pressing charges against Alexander Nikitin and to close the case once and for all;

13.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the President of Russia, the Russian Government and the State Duma.