BETA

23 Amendments of Harald VILIMSKY related to 2015/2001(INI)

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas, in reaction to and despite Russia’s aggression against Georgia and violation of its territorial integrity in 2008, the EU opted for an increased cooperation model as a way to appease Russia; whereas, in line with this, rather than taking restrictive measures, a series of ~~generous~~ initiatives for deeper cooperation – such as the common spaces, the Partnership for Modernisation, the negotiations on a New EU-Russia Agreement, and the Human Rights dialogue – have been launched or deepened;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
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 damaged 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;deleted

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
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;deleted

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas ~~in reaction to Russia’s covert military invasion of Ukraine,~~ 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~~unnecessarily stringent measures; whereas many states have imposed similar sanctions on Russia; whereas in this matter the EU is allowing itself to be guided solely by the interests of the United States;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas these ~~restrictive targeted~~ unnecessarily stringent measures are ~~not~~ directed not only 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, fu, and thus constitute unacceptable interference in Russian affairs, but above ally and honestly, the provisions of the Minsk agreements and the return of Crimea to Ukraine; whereas the sanctions will be strengthened should Russia chose to do otherwise and refrain from taking any positive step to change its policgainst the economic interests of the EU itself; whereas the sanctions must be lifted, partially or fully;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas Russia has developed policies and instruments for, and became an active user of, a new type of hybrid warfare, deliberately blurring the lines between military/paramilitary activity and political activism, employing a mix of weaponised information (information deliberately altered and aired to inflict damage to societal, political and institutional structures), using professional instigators of insurgency in foreign countries, targeting local minority-language groups abroad for destabilisation, controlling information space and combining cyber warfare with military means;deleted

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the intrusions of Russian jet fighters into the airspace of EU and NATO members states and the many NATO manoeuvres in regions bordering on Russia jeopardise the safety of civilian flights;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas the western press and official representatives of the EU and the United States blame Russia for the still unexplained incident involving the shooting-down of flight MH17; whereas the investigatory committee set up in July 2014 has yet to determine who was responsible for the tragic loss of the plane; whereas the decision to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation can be traced back to this incident;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Reiterates that, in the light of ~~Russia’s direct and~~the EU’s indirect involvement in the ~~war~~conflict in Ukraine, amounting to a deliberate violation of the core of the democratic principles and values sustained by the ~~EU and widely shared internationally~~Member States, the EU can~~not envisage a return to ‘business as usual’; calls for a critical re-assessment by the EU of its relations with Russia,~~d all its institutions should be urged to rethink their approach in order to prevent andy f~~or the drafting, as promptly as possible, of a soft-power contingency plan to counter the aggressive and divisive policies conducted by Russia against the EU and its partners~~urther escalation, so that a meaningful diplomatic consensus can be achieved with the Russian Federation; calls for a critical reassessment of EU foreign policy;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that ~~at this point, Russia, because of its actions, can no longer be treated as, or considered, a ‘strategic partner’~~Russia has been the most important partner of the EU and its Member States for 20 years now; 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;

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
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 Europe; 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;deleted

2015/03/31
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines that EU-Russia relations must henceforth 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 its commitments;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Commends the solidarity and the unity demonstrated by the Member States in the context of Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine, allowing the adoption and further extension of responsive measures; calls on the Member States to consider as an absolute priority the preservation of this unity; reiterates that unity and solidarity amongst the Member States, as well as between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries, is essential for ensuring the effectiveness of the EU’s policies and its ability to withstand external challenges and pressurwith the people of Ukraine demonstrated by the Member States;

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines, in this regard, that the strengthening of internal policies, notably through closer integration, is the keystone of an efficient and successful EU external policy; calls, therefore, on the Member States to carry on with, and intensify their efforts towards, the effective elimination of decision-making bottlenecks and the consolidation of common policies, with the aim of minimising the vulnerabilities of these policies and maximising their resilience, in particular in the areas of trade, financial services and transactions, migration, energy, external borders management, information and cyber security;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Firmly ~~suppor~~rejects 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 marketEnergy Union being promoted in the guise of energy independence;

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
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;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
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 in Russia, as well as the increasing monopoly on the information available to Russian-language audiences abroad by state-owned media outlets; deplores that Russian 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;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Re~~news i~~jects 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 Commissioncalls for monitoring of the media; calls on the Member States to earmark without delay adequate funding for concrete projects aimed at countering ~~Russian~~all propaganda 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 Russia to political parties and other organisations within the EU, with a view to assessing its involvement in, and influence over, political life and public debate in the EU;

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
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 accessible alternative to biased information for Russian-speaking minorities in the EU and in the Eastern Partnership countries;

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Reiterates that uncompromising respect for the rule of law is a core and founding principle of the EU, and rejects past attempts to put forward pragmatic interpretations of the rules to accommodate Russia as a trade partner; calls, therefore, on the strict, swift and unconditional application of the rule of law – in the event of any breach of the rules – and of the principle of free and fair competition, including in the proceedings against Gazprom;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Expresses its deep concern for the state of human rights and the rule of law in Russia, and strongly condemns the crackdown on independent civil society and the persistent and multiform repression of activists, political opponents and critics of the regime, which has in some cases led to their murder (Anna Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova, Boris Nemtsov, Sergey Magnitsky, Alexander Litvinenko, and others); demands that all assassinations of political activists, journalists and whistle blowers be investigated properly and independently; reiterates its call on the Council to deliver on its commitment to defend these principles, and to adopt restrictive measures for the officials involved in the well-documented Magnitsky case;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Stresses the importance of continued political and financial support to independent civil society activists, media and NGOs; encourages the EU to reach out to Russian officials and civil society organisations that are inclined to develop an alternative vision of political and diplomatic relations with the EU;deleted

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET

Harald VILIMSKY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, the Senate of the USA, the Commander-in-Chief of NATO and the Governments and Parliaments of the Eastern Partnership countries.

2015/04/01
Committee: AFET