Activities of Pablo IGLESIAS related to 2015/2001(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
State of EU-Russia relations (A8-0162/2015 - Gabrielius Landsbergis) ES
Amendments (23)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU has for decades striven to build a mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Russia based on shared values and principles and on common interests; whereas the EU remains open to such a relationship and to dialogue leading to it, and wishes to return to a cooperative relation with Russia; whereas Russia is one of the EU’s main trading partners, and this has created a high level of interdependence between the two economies;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas a number of EU Member States have impeded the establishment of constructive dialogue with a view to facilitating a diplomatic solution that is of benefit to all sides;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas EU-Russia has – by illegally annexing Crimea and waging an undeclared war against Ukraine, with the direct participation of Russian military units, and by deliberately derelations have been affected by this confrontational policy and by the lack of constructive dialogue; whereas the military and political instabilisty ing 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 Memorandume region constitutes a systemic challenge for European democracies; whereas EU Member States and Russia must respond to these challenges on the basis of, and in compliance with, international law, whilst fostering mutual understanding by means of dialogue;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
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, and whereas those measures have thus far proven to be ineffective and unfair for Europe as a whole;
Amendment 80 #
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 anhaving an adverse effect on the population as a whole; whereas the EU’s stance must be peaceful and conciliatory, based 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 policyinciples of dialogue, and geared towards providing a framework to ensure that citizens’ fundamental rights are upheld;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU has firmlymust maintain its supported for Russia’s accession to 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 iin order to ensure that dialogue can be used as a tool to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict; whereas NATO’s expansion to the east and the EU’s Eastern Partnership have been implemented without close consultation wits neighbourhood), its failure to implement more than a thousand judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, etc.h Russia, and as a result have unnecessarily damaged relations between Russia and the EU;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. takes the view that it is a matter of concern that NATO is becoming more bellicose, as evidenced by the exercises it is carrying out in some states bordering Russia, principally around the Baltic; points out that back in February 140 vehicles and 1 400 troops were moved to within just 300 metres of Estonia’s border with Russia; expresses concern about the military exercises that the aforementioned military alliance has carried out along the Bulgarian coast and about the recent calls by long-standing, high-profile members of the alliance to supply supposedly defensive weapons to the government of Ukraine;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the World Media Freedom Index 2014 ranks the Russian Federation at 148th place out of 180; whereas the financing of state-controlled media outlets has been significantly widened and increased;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ReiteratesTakes the view that, igiven the light of Russia’s direct and indirect involvement in the war in Ukraine, amounting to a deliberate violation of the core ofseriousness of the situation in Ukraine, the EU must reaffirm its commitment to peace, and to the democratic principles and values sustained by the EU andthat are widely shared internationally, the EU cannot envisage a return to ‘business as usual’; calls for a critical re- assessment by the EU of its relations with Russia, and for the drafting, as promptly as possible, of a soft-power contingencydiplomatic plan to counpromoter the aggressive and divisive policies conducted by Russia against the EU and its partnerspaths of dialogue, negotiation and understanding, in order to ensure that commitment to peace and fundamental rights is effective;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is deeply concerned by the fact that Russia nowand the EU are openly positions itself,ing themselves and acts,ing not as a partner ofs, but as a rivals 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 rulehat are incapable of coming to an understanding, and emphasises its grave concern about the increasing tension between the two powers; takes the view that the best way of defending human rights and democracy is to press ahead along the path of understanding, dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution, and that this principle is incompatible with the bellicose tendencies that are putting Europe’s stability at risk;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that EU-Russia relations must henceforth be based on the rule of law and on preconditionedcontinuous, open and constructive 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, whilst upholding standards and international commitments;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 306 #
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 marketNotes the implementation of the EU energy policy aimed at promoting energy security for all Member States; takes the view that a constructive and trusting relationship with neighbouring countries is the best way of guaranteeing the Member States’ energy supply until such time as the necessary steps are taken to change an energy model that has proven to be unsustainable;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the relevimportance 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 furthermaintaining a defence policy that is inseparable from the EU’s commitment to human rights; takes the view that relations with Russia, which is a major international player, must be based on cooperation and not on conflict; regrets the lack of autonomy in framing European security and defence policy that results from its dependence on NATO initiatives;
Amendment 355 #
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 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;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
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 interpretathat as such it must guide all the EU’s actions ofin the rules to accommodate Russia as a trade partner; calls, therefore, on the strict, swift and unconditional application of the rule of law – area of foreign policy; recognises that interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs and the immediate recognition of the government resulting from the Maidan protests, following the eovent of any breach of the rules – and of the principle of free and fair rthrow of a democratically elected executive, is incompeatition, including in the proceedings against Gazpromble with that commitment;
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
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)activists, political opponents and critics of the regime; 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; reaffirms its commitment to fundamental rights and freedoms within and without its borders;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14