Activities of Włodzimierz CIMOSZEWICZ related to 2021/2042(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Direction of EU-Russia political relations (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT 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 direction of EU-Russia political relations
Amendments (34)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
— having regard to the joint communication from the European Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Tackling Covid-19 disinformation - Getting the facts right (JOIN/2020/8 final),
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Russia is continuing its aggressive behaviour on the border withcurrently presents a threat to cooperation and security in Europe through its continued aggression against Ukraine and, interfering with acts of terrorism on the territory of EU Member States, such as Czechia, and itsence on the territory and in democratic processes of EU Member States and their eastern neighbours, inter alia by supporting the illegitimate regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the combination of Western sanctions on Russia, a decrease of revenue from fossil fuel exports, an uncompetitive economy, high military expenditures, and domestic social transfers has caused Russia to face financial difficulties;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the Russian President has launched an aggressive foreign policy in order to appear as the defender of Russian interests;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the sanctions imposed by the Russian Federation on European Parliament President David Sassoli, European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová and six other EU Member States’ officials are unacceptable and baseless because they lack any legal justification;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the situation in Russia is deteriorating dreadfully because of President Putin’s systemic repression of democratic forces such as when just two weeks after the arrest of Alexei Navalny RussiRussian government is increasingly reverting to repression to silence its domestic critics, political opposition and authorities detained more than 11 000 peaceful demonstrators, bringing the total number of Russians detained since January 2021 to more than 15 000nti-corruption activists, as demonstrated by the unprecedentedly high number of detentions since the protests against the arrest of Alexei Navalny in January 2021;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the five EU guiding principles for relations with Russia have deterred the Kremlin regime from further aggression against Ukraine, but they are silent with respect to containing President Putin’remain valid but must be paired with an actual strategy on how to achieve the EU’s goals in relations with Russia, including inter alia deterring the Kremlin from further aggression against Ukraine and containing its war against the people of Russia;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the new EU strategy should be centred on thetake into account the necessity to ‘push- back, contain and engage’ principles aimed at strengthening the EU’s capacity to combat the Kremlin’s threats, especially in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, including Belarus, as well as in Russia itself, by defending human rights and assisting Russia’s transformation into a democracy in accordance with the principle of ‘democracy first’and therefore provide for clear responses to Russia’s infringements of international law and human rights and for effective instruments against Russia’s interference and disinformation, where necessary, and for selective engagement where possible;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the EU strategy on Russia should work in the interaim to pursue dialogue with a view to promoting the valuest of the EU and offer Russia a constructive dialogue aimed at promoting the values of human rights and democracyhuman rights and democracy, increasing prosperity, security and stability in Europe and jointly addressing global challenges while preventing Russia from obstructing effective multilateral cooperation and continuing to seek confrontation;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the Russian administration continues to stockpile offensive weapons and troops in the closest vicinity of the EU borders, in the Kaliningrad enclave;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point -a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point -a (new)
(-a) the EU should signal clear alternative paths for future relations with Russia with punitive measures if it continues its lawless behaviour and wide- ranging cooperation if it rejoins the group of law-abiding countries, by developing effective instruments to defend the EU while at the same time outlining more appealing incentives for Russia; underlines that the EU shall refrain from pursuing cooperation with Russia only for the sake of maintaining dialogue channels open;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the EU should be ready to call for the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT payment system if the Russian authorities continue their aggressive threats and military action against EU Member States and military action against EaP neighbouring countries;
Amendment 263 #
(c) the EU must have a clear goal and plans on how to cut its dependency on Russian gas and oil, at least while President Puseek to reduce its dependency on Russian gas and oil in order to achieve the agreed diversification is in powerof energy sources;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) the EU should continue its engagement, including through the relevant EU Member States involved in the Normandy Format, in the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and to explore possibilities for transatlantic cooperation on this matter;
Amendment 270 #
(cb) the EU should continue its efforts to raise security-related concerns and maintain them on the agenda of the relevant European and international organisations such as the OSCE or the UN where Russia is a participating state and member and has committed to respecting the organisations' principles and norms;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) the EU should initiate security compacts with EaP countries that have an association agreement with the EU and propose a new EU integration strategy for Eastern Partners building on former Commission President Romano Prodi’s formula of ‘everything, but the institucontinue to enhance its cooperation with EaP countries with the aim of strengthening the resilience of their institutions, economies and societies and deepening political association and economic integrations’;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) the EU should urgently equip itself with the necessary resources and tools to analyse and effectively counter Russian State and non-state actors’ hybrid threats and multiple forms of interferences in our democratic systems, including in the cyberspace; this includes improving and developing instruments and legal frameworks to fight against disinformation campaigns conducted by Russian actors on social media and through other channels such as RT and Sputnik;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d b (new)
(db) the EU should establish a regulatory framework to fight the Russian financial interference in our democratic processes, including the strategy of elite capture and the technique of co-opting top-level civil servants and former European politicians; it should respond to and prevent the funding, by Russian actors, of political parties, notably far-right parties, political movements and political campaigns;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d c (new)
(dc) the EU should fight against Russian state-backed investments in strategic infrastructures and bodies, including universities, which risk creating or reinforcing the dependency of certain economic sectors on Russia and can serve as entry points for Russian espionage and security threats;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d d (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d d (new)
(dd) the EU should fight against harassment, intimidations and attacks against Russian refugees and asylum seekers in Europe; EU members states should refrain from allowing or enabling deportations and extraditions of political opponents and asylum seekers to Russia, where their life or physical integrity would be in danger;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
(f) the EU should establish with the US a transatlantic alliance to defend democracy globally and propose a democracy defence toolkit, which should include joint actions on sanctions, anti- money laundering policies, rules on the conditionality of economic and financial assistance, international investigations, and support for human rights activists and defenders of democracy;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
(ha) the EU should prepare a new sanctions mechanism whereby the continuation of hostile acts perpetrated by the Russian Federation would trigger an EU-level reduction of energy imports from Russian-based suppliers by a certain percentage while at the same time it would assist EU Member States in filling the gap through measures consistent with the European Green Deal; stresses that the reduction should automatically increase by the same percentage on an annual basis until the Russian Federation reverses its hostile acts;
Amendment 407 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i
(i) the EU should establish partnerships on its sanctions policy with EU-based non- governmental organisations such as Bellingcat, so that these organisations can assist ithe EU in preparing and investigating cases in a comprehensive way;
Amendment 414 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) the EU should establish a centralised anti-money laundering framework, including an EU authority for financial controls, to be put under Parliament’s supervision and to be entrusted with the protection of the EU and its Member States from illicit financial practices and influences from Russia and other non-EU countries;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
(ka) the EU should encourage and support efforts in national and international jurisdictions to launch criminal proceedings to hold Russian military and para-military groups accountable for violations and crimes, including war crimes, committed against civilians during operations in multiple countries, such as for instance Syria and Libya;
Amendment 475 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) the EU should adopt and announce a strategic vision for its future relations with a democratic Russia, which should include a broad offer with conditions and incentives such as visa liberalisation, free trade investment and modernisation programmes, and a strategic partnership; it should also convey the potential benefits that it is willing to offer in return for a democratic transformation of Russia;
Amendment 477 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
(na) the EU should call for the withdrawal of oppressive laws against the civil society and political opposition, which designate selected organisations as ‘undesirable’ or ‘extremist’ and thus prevent them from conducting their activities and subject them to possible criminal cases; it should demand the repeal of the ‘foreign agents’ law systematically applied to retaliate against free media and independent journalists and should strengthen its support to independent media in Russia;
Amendment 484 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n b (new)
(nb) the EU should strongly demand the end of arbitrary arrests, detention and judicial harassment of political activists and peaceful demonstrators in Russia; it must encourage and support investigations of these abuses and judicial proceedings to hold the responsible of such violations accountable;
Amendment 486 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n c (new)
(nc) the EU should reinforce its financial support to all pro-democracy organisations and activists and to human rights defenders in Russia and should provide all necessary resources to existing programs aimed at the protection of human rights defenders;
Amendment 489 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n d (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n d (new)
(nd) the EU should reinforce its support to the protection of LGBTI people in Russia and other vulnerable communities against abuses and violations, including ill-treatment and torture by security forces, notably in Chechnya;
Amendment 490 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n e (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n e (new)
(ne) in its actions aimed at impelling the Russian Federation to comply with the modern standards of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the EU must pay attention to the unequivocal protection of the rights of religious (e.g. Crimean Tatars, Jehovah's witnesses), sexual, national, ethnic and other minorities, and to the principle of gender equality;
Amendment 493 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n f (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n f (new)
(nf) condemns in strongest terms the unjustified sanctions against the EU officials and calls on the Russian authorities to withdraw them without any delay;
Amendment 505 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) the EU should adopt an ambitious strategy to support the successful development of EaP countries, which would serve as a good example and would incentivise the Russian people to support democracy; accordingly, the EU should propose to EaP countries that have an association agreement with the EU a new momentum of European integration with a view to keeping their motivation for reformscontinue to enhance the Eastern Partnership with the goal of promoting democracy, rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights as well as regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations, so that the democratic development and economic and social prosperity of its neighbours may equally benefit their populations and bring the EaP countries closer to the EU;