EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Session document

6.12.2006

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure

by Cohn-Bendit, Héléne Flautre, Milan Horacek, Bart Staes and Rebecca Harms
on behalf of the Green/EFA Group

on the conclusions of the EU-Russia summit of 24 November 2006

European Parliament resolution on the conclusions of the EU-Russia summit of 24 November 2006

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the Russian Federation with regard, in particular, to the ones of 25 October 2006 and of 26 May 2005,

- having regard to the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which entered into force on the December 1, 1997,

- having regard to the EU and Russia fourth round of Human Rights Consultations held on 8 November 2006,

- having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the relations between the EU and Russia have been steadily growing over the last years leading to a deep and comprehensive economic integration and interdependency which is bound to increase even more in the near future,

B. whereas the four Common Space Road Maps agreed in May 2005 constitute the basis upon which to develop further the bilateral relations thus exploiting the potential of the partnership,

C. whereas the present Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Russia which entered into force in 1997 is due to expire in 2007; whereas both parties have expressed their interest and willingness to negotiate a more ambitious agreement;

D. stressing, though, that a genuine strategic partnership must be based on shared common values which at present is not the case,

E. pointing out that the EU needs a robust and unified policy vis-à-vis Russia that allows cooperation and at the same time holds Russia to account for all the commitments it has signed up to which encompass a wide range of issues,

F. regretting the discriminatory trade measures adopted or threatened by the Russian Federation towards some present and future EU Member States and common neighbouring countries which appear to be politically motivated rather than technical,

G. deeply concerned at the substantial deterioration of the Russian democracy, in particular by the growth of the government control over major TV and radio stations, the spread of self-censorship among the print media, the closure of independent media, restrictions on the right to organise public demonstrations, a worsening climate for NGOs with cases of harassment of human rights defenders and increased political control of the judiciary,

H. highly shocked at the wave of killings and mysterious assassinations of journalists and personalities with regard, in particular, to the one of Anna Politkovskaya on 7 October in Moscow, and the one of Aleksander Litvinenko a former FSB agent who died on 23 November 2006 in a London hospital after being poisoned with a radioactive substance,

G. stressing that so far the EU-Russia human rights consultation has brought about no substantial progress in this field which should be a priority as regards EU-Russia relations,

H. whereas the Russian authorities are still refusing to sign the Energy Charter treaty declaring though their willingness to take on board its basic principles in the future partnership agreement; whereas President Putin has publicly called on the EU not to fear being too dependent on Russia with regard to energy;

1. Regrets the failure of the Council to approve a common position on a mandate to launch negotiations for a new partnership agreement with the Russian Federation in spite of the efforts made by the Finnish presidency to reach a compromise,

2. Recalls, in this regard, that compromise is one of the fundamental elements of the EU construction and success; calls, therefore, on Member States to act even-handedly and limit the use of their veto to exceptional and emergency situations;

3. Reiterates its view that at present EU-Russia relations can only be of a pragmatic nature since they have failed to meet all the engagements and the obligations included in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;

4. Welcomes the conclusions of the negotiations on the phasing out of charges for overflying Siberia which put an end to years of discrimination towards European air-carriers;

5. Supports the declaration on the Northern Dimension Policy which states the firm commitment to cooperate actively in the region on the basis of good-neighbourliness, equal partnership, common responsibility and transparency;

6. Calls on the Russian authorities to lift the ban on imports of meat and other farm products from Poland; welcomes the announcement by President Putin about the lifting of the ban on the import of Moldovan products and urges him to do the same also for the Georgian ones;

7. Regrets that the fourth round of EU and Russia Human Rights Consultation has brought about no substantial progress in this field which should be a priority as regards bilateral relations and that also at the EU-Russia summit the questions regarding human rights were the object of a mere expression of concern without any tangible result,

8. Urges on the Council and the Commission to press the Russian authorities in a more effective and credible way about the systematic intimidation, harassment and murders of independent journalists and human rights defenders as well as other persons critical of the present weak and ailing democracy,

9. Calls on the Russian authorities to provide their fullest cooperation to the British authorities investigating into the case of Aleksander Litvinenko;

10. Reiterates its call for the stepping-up of the EU-Russia Human Rights consultation so as to make it more effective, open to NGOs and with the full involvement of the European Parliament at all levels and result-oriented with a view to strengthening this element in the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;

11. Takes the view that an open and constructive dialogue between EU and Russia on the rights of the Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic Republics and how to provide non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all could be a useful way to engage Russia to make progress in the field of human rights;

12. Expresses its deep concern at the latest reports of international human rights organisations and UN experts about the use of torture in the Russian prisons and police stations and in secret detention centres in Chechnya which include inhumane and degrading acts committed by public officials; strongly condemns such practices and calls on the Russian authorities to investigate the abuses, immediately put and end to any misconducts and bring the ones responsible to justice;

13. Urges the Council to start a deep reflection about the future relations with the Russian Federation involving the European Parliament and the civil society with a view to placing democracy, human rights and freedom of expression at the core of any future agreement and setting up a clear mechanism to monitor the implementation of all the clauses of such agreement including the definition of a suspension clause;

14. Calls on the Russian Federation to stop importing nuclear waste and becoming the worldwide nuclear waste end station

15. Urges the Russian federal government to ensure that the expert environmental assessment, which is a legal requirement under Russian legislation, is carried out in the process of decisions about lifetime prolongation of nuclear power plants acknowledging that extending the life of nuclear plants beyond their intended lifespan is inherently dangerous.

16. Expresses its concerns on the security of the nuclear power plants the Russian Federation sells to other countries and the proliferation of nuclear material through those nuclear plants.

17. Calls on the Russian federation to stop shipments of unirradiated, separated plutonium and plutonium bearing materials as well as nuclear reprocessing since these activities constitute potential proliferation risks.

18. Calls on the Russian Federation to guarantee a full and free access to its energy market as well as to its gas and oil resources.

19. Calls on the Russian Federation to invest heavily in energy efficiency measures, in regard to the urgency of the climate change issue and the pressure on energy supplies

20. Urges the Russian Federation not to use its energy supplies towards third countries, especially the EU member states, as a political weapon

21. Calls on the Russian Federation to guarantee high environmental standards of all the oil and gas projects which are under process and planned on its territory

22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe.