The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the
report by David McALLISTER (EPP, DE) on a European Parliament
recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the
Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the new comprehensive
agreement between the EU and Uzbekistan.
The committee suggested that Parliament should
make the following recommendations to the Council, the Commission
and the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP):
EU-Uzbekistan relations
- welcome the commitments and steps taken by
Uzbekistan towards a more open society and stress the EU’s
interest in strengthening its relations with Uzbekistan on the
basis of common values and acknowledge Uzbekistan’s role as an
important cultural and political bridge between Europe and
Asia;
- ensure a regular and thorough dialogue and monitor the
full implementation of political and democratic reforms aimed at
creating an independent judiciary, an independent parliament
following a genuine election, the protection of human rights,
gender equality and media freedom, depoliticize the security
services and closely involve civil society in the reform
process;
- support Uzbekistan's commitment to ongoing structural,
administrative and economic reforms aimed at improving the business
climate and security services, working conditions and the
responsibility and effectiveness of the administration;
- ensure that human rights defenders, civil society,
international observers and human rights organisations can operate
freely in a legally sound and politically safe
environment;
- call for the release of all remaining political
prisoners and all other individuals imprisoned or persecuted for
political reasons such as human rights activists, civil society and
religious activists, journalists and members of the
opposition;
- expect the Government of Uzbekistan to take measures
to eradicate all forms of forced labour financed by the State in
the cotton and silk industries and in other areas;
- encourage the authorities to define action plans to
reduce unemployment in the country, including by opening up the
private sector and strengthening small and medium-sized
enterprises;
- urge the authorities to provide the necessary support
to enable Uzbekistan, and in particular the Autonomous Republic of
Karakalpakstan, to cope with the economic, social and health
related consequences of the environmental disaster in the Aral
Sea;
- improve the local health care system and increase
national resources for this purpose;
- ensure effective cooperation
in the fight against corruption, money laundering and tax
evasion.
New comprehensive agreement
Members called for negotiations to be used to support
genuine and sustainable progress towards an accountable and
democratic regime that guarantees and protects the fundamental
rights of all citizens and to negotiate a comprehensive and
ambitious agreement between the EU and Uzbekistan by strengthening
political cooperation, trade and investment relations and
cooperation in the fields of sustainable development, environmental
protection, connectivity, human rights and governance.
Members called for:
- support Uzbekistan's renewed efforts towards
multilateral and international cooperation on global and regional
challenges;
- ensure that the comprehensive agreement facilitates
and strengthens regional cooperation and the peaceful settlement of
existing disputes, paving the way for genuine good neighbourly
relations;
- strengthen provisions on trade and economic relations
by better linking them to human rights provisions and by committing
to the implementation of the UN Guidelines on Business and Human
Rights;
- ensure the participation of all relevant actors,
including civil society, both in the negotiations and in the
implementation phase of the agreement;
- include provisions on the possible suspension of
cooperation in the event of a breach of an essential element of the
Agreement by either Party, in particular with regard to respect for
democracy, human rights and the rule of law, including consultation
of the European Parliament in such cases.
The European
Parliament should be closely involved in monitoring the
implementation of all sections of the agreement once it enters into
force.