The European
Parliament adopted by 416 votes to 80, with 147 abstentions, a resolution
comprising a series of recommendations to the Council on the new EU-Russia
agreement.
Recalling that
EU relations with Russia are of crucial importance for the purposes of
pragmatic cooperation and that Russia is the third largest trading partner of
the EU and the fourth largest trading partner of the Eurozone and an essential
energy supplier to the EU, the Parliament addresses the following
recommendations to the Council in the context of the current negotiations on
a new cooperation agreement.
Human
Rights: Parliament calls for the following:
·
that the EU continues to insist on a broad,
wide-ranging and legally binding agreement based on a shared commitment to
human rights;
·
that Russia respects international law and all
binding agreements and treaties to which it adheres, including the UN
Charter, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Energy Charter
Treaty;
·
that the EU insists on the fact that a close
partnership, enhanced cooperation and good neighbourly relations between it
and Russia, as well as the new policy of the US administration towards
Russia, can create a stable foundation and a precondition for stability,
security and prosperity in Europe and worldwide (the plenary welcomes the
declarations of the US administration concerning the great potential for
cooperation with Russia);
·
the putting in place a consultation mechanism,
under the responsibility of the High Representative, which would enable
Member States to consult each other sufficiently in advance on every
bilateral issue – whether an agreement or a dispute – with Russia which could
have repercussions on other Member States and the EU as a whole;
·
that the EU insists on raising with the
Russian Government concerns about the human rights situation and the
shrinking space for Russia's civil society and to take prompt and effective
steps to foster a favourable working climate for NGOs;
·
that the Russian Government fully respect
media freedom and guarantee the enjoyment by independent media of political
and economic conditions;
·
that the EU recalls President Medvedev's
public commitment to strengthening the rule of law in Russia and raises its concerns over the independence of Russia's judiciary and legal system;
·
the revision of the six-monthly EU-Russia
human rights consultation to make it more efficient and to also include
minority rights;
·
that the Russian Federation guarantee the
existence and sustainable development of the traditional lifestyle, culture
and language of indigenous people living within its borders.
External
policy: the Parliament points out:
- that the
negotiations on a new agreement aimed at enhancing cooperation between
the EU and the Russian Federation should in no way legitimise the
current status quo in Georgia, and that the obligation for Russia to
implement fully the agreements signed on 12 August and 8 September 2008
with regard to the conflict in South Ossetia and Abkhazia remains valid,
since its compliance with those agreements should be a sine qua non for
the successful completion of the talks, which should include a
renunciation by all parties of the use of force against neighbouring
countries;
- its strong
concern at the situation in Chechnya, where Kadirov's regime has failed
to bring peace and reconciliation and, on the contrary, has imposed fear
and oppression that eroded civil society and suppressed any open and
democratic voice, and call for a real political settlement.
Membership
of the WTO: Parliament wants:
- the EU to continue
to maintain support for Russia’s accession to the WTO and support
the further opening-up of the Russian economy and to create a
free-trade zone between the EU and Russia, which continues to be a
long-term objective;
- further
improvements to be made in legislation and law enforcement as regards
the protection of intellectual, industrial and commercial property
rights in order to increase competitiveness and make the investment
climate attractive;
- new measures
to combat effectively counterfeiting and piracy.
Energy and
environment: the Parliament asks:
- that the
Energy Charter (signed but not ratified by Moscow) and its protocol on
transit (not signed by Russia) serve as a basis for relations on the
energy field with the Union and for their integration in the new
agreement (this protocol would prohibit any interruption or reduction in
energy flow in the event of dispute regarding transit means);
- Russia to establish a legal framework governing the transit of
energy supplies to the Union, based on the framework already in
place in the Energy Charter;
- environmental
impact assessments to be carried out on all energy infrastructure
projects;
- Russia to demonstrate greater transparency and reciprocity in the
energy crisis which faces the Union and for it to enhance significantly the
security of energy supply (in particular, MEPs call for the establishment
of a transparent rules-based system and dispute-settlement mechanism).
Political
dialogue: The Parliament calls for:
- a clear code
of conduct governing relations between the EU, Russia and the countries
of the shared neighbourhood, including provisions relating to respect
for the sovereign independence of all European states, a commitment to
the peaceful settlement of disputes and a determination to resolve
frozen conflicts;
- improvements
on the existing political dialogue so as to encourage discussion of
“hard security issues”, which are often at the core of the disagreements
between the EU and Russia but which indubitably affect European and
global security;
- a positive
contribution to finding a sustainable political solution for the future
of Kosovo and the stability of the Western Balkans;
- a real
commitment from the Russian authorities to resolve in a constructive
and peaceful manner, together with Georgia and the EU, the
“modalities of security and stability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia”
(MEPs urge the Russian Government to ensure that EU monitors are granted
full access to all areas affected by the conflict, in compliance with
the mandate of the EU Monitoring Mission).
Visa
policy: the Parliament:
- insists that
the goal of visa-free travel vis-à-vis Russia be pursued in the light of
Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 as well as that of visa facilitation
to encourage interpersonal contacts, but taking into account reciprocal
measures on the part of the Russian authorities;
- insists on a
clear commitment from the Russian authorities to reduce bureaucratic
obstacles applied in a non-reciprocal manner with respect to all
travellers, such as the need to have an invitation and to register upon
arrival;
- calls for
the Kaliningrad transit and visa problem to be urgently addressed.
Market
liberalisation: Parliament calls for:
- the
liberalisation of markets and the reciprocity of investment rights
between the partners, as well as the guarantee the property rights of
foreign investors;
- the
compatibility of Russian legislation with Russia's current and future
obligations under the WTO;
- the phasing
out of Siberian overflight payments requested by Russia and the signature of the agreement reached on this issue at the summit in Samara;
- free passage
through the Pilawa strait to allow access for EU shipping to the passage
to Asia along the Northern Russian territory.
Lastly,
Parliament calls on the Council and the Commission to keep Parliament
regularly and fully informed of the progress of the negotiations.