15 Amendments of Fabio Massimo CASTALDO related to 2015/2001(INI)
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Russia has – by illegally annexing Crimea and waging an undeclared war against Ukraine, with the direct participation of Russian military units, and by deliberately destabilising this neighbouring sovereign and independent country – profoundly and for a long time damag– destabilised its relationship with the EU by jeopardising the basic principles of Europe’s security order and by breaking its international commitments, notably under the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest Memorandum;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Russia is the instigator of and, directly or indirectly, party to a number of ‘frozen conflicts’ in its neighbourhood – in Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhasia, and Nagorno Karabakh – that constitute serious impediments to the development and stability of the neighbouring countries concerned;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas in reaction to Russia’s covert military invasion of Ukrainethe situation which has arisen, the EU has adopted a stage-by-stage series of restrictive measures; whereas similar sanctions have been adopted by a number of other countries in reaction to Russia’s aggression;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas these restrictive targeted measures are not directed against the Russian people but aim at stimulating a change in Russian policy towards, and actions in, the common neighbourhood; whereas the sanctions could be lifted, partially or fully, as soon as Russia commits itself to implementing, fully and honestly, the provisions of the Minsk agreements and the return of Crimea to Ukraine; whereas the sanctions will be strengthened sha diplomatic solution can be foulnd Russia chose to do otherwise and refrain from taking any positive step to change its policyto the crisis;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU has firmly supported Russia’s accession and participation in different international organisations and fora, such as the G8, the G20 and the WTO; whereas this strategy of including Russia in international decision-making bodies has not had the results expected but instead created tensions owing to Russia’s habit of breaching rules, e.g. its non- compliance with WTO standards and obligations (by introducing a number of discriminatory measures against individual EU Member States and other countries in its neighbourhood), its failure to implement more than a thousand judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, etc., nevertheless, the EU does not intend to give up in its intent to continue along this path, by opposing every attempt, by Russia or others – even if they are EU members – to breach the rules;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the intrusions of Russian jet fighters into the airspace of EU and NATO mMembers s States jeopardise the safety of civilian flights;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that at this point, Russia, because of its actions, can no longer be treated as, or considered, a ‘strategic partner’ and as a ‘strategic partner’ of the EU, cannot fail to give precedence to diplomatic channels in order to resolve the crises which concern it, starting with the one in Ukraine; points out that strategic partnerships are only conceivable with countries that do not jeopardise the international order, which is based on democracy, state sovereignty (including the choice of internal constitutional order and foreign policy orientation), the inviolability of state borders, respect for the rule of law and the principles of international trade, and mutual trust;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is deeply concerned by the fact that Russia now openly positions itself, and acts, not as a partner of, but as a rival to the international democratic community, seeking to challenge the current international order, and is in the process of redrawing borders within EuropeEU; is extremely worried by the tendency of the Russian authorities to systematically denigrate liberal democracy and to consider democratic neighbouring countries as a threat to their own rule; wishes to distance itself from the military assistance and arms sales that the West appears to want to provide to the Ukrainian troops, and to endlessly push for a diplomatic solution by virtue of the principles that are supposed to govern international relations, so that the latter can exist and remain peaceful;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that EU-Russia relations must henceforthcontinue to be based on the rule of law and on preconditioned dialogue, whereby the EU would be ready to relaunch cooperation with the authorities in Moscow on the condition that Russia unambiguously and without pretence takes its share of responsibility and fully implements the Minsk Agreements; stresses that in order to ensure that such a dialogue – if renewed (for which the return of Crimea to Ukraine would be a prerequisite) – is not conducted at the expense of European values, standards and international commitments, it would be necessary to specify very clearly the EU’s expectations of Russia, along with the retaliatory measures it would take should Russia not keep to itssuch a dialogue must not be conducted at the expense of European values, standards and international commitments;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Firmly supports the swift creation of a robust European Energy Union, specifically the interconnection of national energy networks in order to reduce considerably the dependence of individual Member States on external energy suppliers; is of the firm conviction that the challenges to and vulnerability of European solidarity, and the exposure of individual Member States, to the illegitimate use of energy as a political and diplomatic bargain chip can only be combatted efficiently through the full implementation of the Third Energy package and the completion of a transparent, integrated, synchronised and resilient European internal energy market; remains aware that efforts will be needed in the short-to- medium term to differentiate the supplier base, which is why it will be vital for the EU to develop – better still if together with Russia – strategies to stabilise the southern shores of the Mediterranean;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the relevance of the suspension of cooperation with Russia in the defence sector, and calls on the Member States to refrain from taking any decisions that could jeopardise this united position; is therefore of the view that, notwithstanding their undisputable bilateral nature, agreements in the field of defence cooperation between some Member States and Russia should be assessed carefully at EU level, with a view to defining an appropriate and consistent approach; calls for the EU’s cooperation with NATO to be consolidated further;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is deeply concerned by the ever growing restrictions on free media, the tightening of online media control, the use of coercion to curb impartial reporting and the erosion of journalistic standards both in Russia and in Ukraine, as well as the increasing monopoly on the information available to Russian-language audiences abroad by state-owned media outlets; deplores that both Russian and Ukrainian state- controlled media have become players in the EU information sphere without keeping to the norms of independent journalism, including the rejection of hate speech;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Renews its call for the development of EU reconnaissance capabilities of weaponised information and the preparation of information contingency plans, including the strengthening of analytical and monitoring capabilities, especially in the Russian language, in order to be able to identify, and respond swiftly and appropriately to, purposefully biased information; calls on the Commission to earmark without delay adequate funding for concrete projects aimed at countering Russian propagandathe political use of information within the EU and abroad; calls on the Commission and the Member States to devise as well a mechanism for the collection, monitoring and reporting of financial, political or technical assistance provided by Russto the media toby political parties and other organisations, representing ‘powerful interests’ within the EU, with a view to assessing its involvement in, andtheir influence over, political life and public debate in the EU;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the EU to provide support to grass-roots projects aimed at developing high journalistic standards, freedom of the media, and unbiased and trustworthy information in Russia, and at deconstructing propaganda within the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries; supports the initiative to develop Russian- language media channels, with a view to providing a credible and accessiblen alternative to biased information for Russian-speaking minorities in the EU and in the Eastern Partnership countries;