53 Amendments of Malik AZMANI related to 2021/2042(INI)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A. whereas the European Parliament distinguishes - the Russian people and the Putin’s regime - and critical actions proposed in this report are directed towards the Putin’s regime, while stressing the urgent need to reach out to the Russian people and show that the EU is welcoming to them;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A
Recital -A
-A. whereas the Union's relations with the Russian Federation must be based on the principles of international law, democracy and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and whereas the current Russian government has shown contempt for these principles;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)
Recital -A a (new)
-Aa. whereas Russia is an authoritarian state run by President Vladimir Putin and his loyalists, in which there are no free and fair elections, both the State Duma and the Council of the Federation are submissive to Mr Putin’s orders, opposition forces are under constant intimidation and threat, which includes searches of their offices, arrests and imprisonment sentences, assassination attempts and actual killings;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital –A a (new)
Recital –A a (new)
-Aa. whereas the Russian Federation has committed itself to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights through its membership of the Council of Europe and the OSCE;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital –A b (new)
Recital –A b (new)
-Ab. whereas the EU is Russia's largest trading partner, while Russia is the EU's fifth largest trading partner;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A b (new)
Recital -A b (new)
-Ab. whereas Mr Putin’s 20 years-long ruling has been possible only through manipulation of the Russian Constitution; whereas the latest constitutional reforms enacted in July 2020 during the COVID- 19 pandemic – including an amendment giving President Putin a waiver from presidential term-limits in 2024 – avoided full referendum procedures, violated both Russian law and the Russian Federation’s OSCE obligations, and were assessed by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) as “clearly inappropriate” and, according to Russian statisticians, were adopted by means of probably the most fraudulent vote in Russian history;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A c (new)
Recital -A c (new)
-Ac. whereas the Freedom in the World 2021 report placed Russia in the category of ‘not free’ countries; whereas citizens’ fundamental freedoms are limited in Russia the election environment is controlled, Russian people are discouraged from public protests by the burdensome bureaucratic procedures established in order for citizens to receive a permission and by police violence during peaceful protests;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A d (new)
Recital -A d (new)
-Ad. whereas, according to the Memorial Human Rights Centre, the Russian authorities currently hold nearly 400 political prisoners in violation of the Russian Federation’s obligations under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 23 of the Concluding Document of the Vienna Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A e (new)
Recital -A e (new)
-Ae. whereas the organisers and masterminds of the 2015 assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov remain unidentified and unindicted, while the OSCE report on this issue has concluded that “the main issue for addressing impunity is not the capabilities of the Russian law enforcement, but political will”;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A f (new)
Recital -A f (new)
-Af. whereas the media space in Russia is controlled and owned by the state, there is no public broadcaster, the remaining few independent media sources struggle financially and face persecution, including physical attacks and imprisonment of media workers; whereas since 1992, 58 journalists have been killed in Russia; whereas the “sovereign internet” law enables the government to block any unwanted Internet content;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A h (new)
Recital -A h (new)
-Ah. whereas the LGBTI+ community in Russia faces extensive discrimination, including harassment, torture, imprisonment and killings; whereas situation for LGBTI+ community is particularly dangerous in Chechnya, which in 2017 started its purge of LGBTI+ people, detaining and torturing dozens, with at least two killed, and many seeking for safe refuge abroad; whereas existing laws prohibit any public discussion on “non-traditional sexual relationships”;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A i (new)
Recital -A i (new)
-Ai. whereas the Putin regime rejects multilateralism and the rule of law based international order, disregards international law and Helsinki OSCE principles, as demonstrated by the 2020 constitutional reforms elevating Russian law above international law;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A j (new)
Recital -A j (new)
-Aj. whereas the 2020 Russian constitutional reforms revised the history of the WWII, cleansing the Soviet history and naming Russia as a successor of the Soviet Union, introduced the right to intervene internationally in defence of Russian compatriots and outlawed discussions about returning Russian lands to foreign actors;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A k (new)
Recital -A k (new)
-Ak. whereas in 2019 Russia re-joined the Council of Europe but extensive violations of human rights continue, as well as its refusal to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A l (new)
Recital -A l (new)
-Al. whereas Russia uses other international institutions, primarily the UN and the OSCE, to prevent justice and conflict resolution worldwide;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A n (new)
Recital -A n (new)
-An. whereas a passportization policy is being used to boost the numbers of Russian compatriots and de facto incorporate into Russia citizens of territories occupied by it and breakaway territories, notably Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Donbas and the Crimean Peninsula; whereas these Russian actions are a violation of international laws;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A q (new)
Recital -A q (new)
-Aq. whereas the “Russian World” is being promoted by state-owned media channels such as Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in the native languages of the EU Member States; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is being used by Kremlin’s propaganda to seed division among the EU Member States, portray the EU as unable to cope with the pandemic, seed doubts about the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, discourage EU citizens from vaccination, and rehabilitate Russia’s image in the eyes of EU population, particularly via the promotion of the Sputnik V vaccine;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A r (new)
Recital -A r (new)
-Ar. whereas the Russian “foreign agents” law adopted in 2012 was used to get rid of Western grant-giving organisations and deprive democracy- promoting local NGOs from essential funding, and has been gradually expanding and currently any ordinary citizen can be branded as a foreign agent for its political activity; whereas another law prohibits the financing of public events in Russia by foreign governments, organizations and other actors labelled as foreign agents;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A u (new)
Recital -A u (new)
-Au. whereas the EU and its Member States institutions as well as objects of strategical importance, leadership and democratic processes such as elections are the constant target of Russian cyber- attacks;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A v (new)
Recital -A v (new)
-Av. whereas Putin’s Russia seeks to maintain its influence in the former Soviet space at any cost, it rejects the right of self-determination of neighbouring countries and openly disrupts their efforts to implement pro-European democratic reforms and jeopardises their ambitions to join the EU and NATO;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A w (new)
Recital -A w (new)
-Aw. whereas Russia remains engaged in several parts of the world and seeks to disrupt EU influence in the Eastern Partnership region, the Western Balkans, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America; whereas Russia establishes alternative models for cooperation such as the Eurasian Economic Union not necessarily with the intention to demonstrate its superiority, but to oppose the EU and the West in general;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Western Balkans region, which includes countries on the official waiting list to join the EU is characterized by a strong Russian presence, particularly Serbia where Russia has intentions to open an office of the Russian defence ministry; whereas in 2016 in Montenegro Russian military intelligence was involved into attempts to overtake country’s parliament, to assassinate the Prime Minister and install a pro-Russian and anti-NATO government, and to prevent Montenegro’s accession to NATO;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas Russia uses its paramilitary organization (the “Wagner Group”) to support dictatorial regimes around the world and undermine the EU’s and international community’s efforts to mitigate conflicts, build peace and stability;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas Russia ranks 120 out of 180 countries in the 2020 Corruption Perception Index, as massive state-level corruption prevents Russian population from quality public services, which remain underfunded, including the public health care, which is of particular importance during the pandemic; whereas nearly 19 million of Russians live under the poverty line;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the Russian Government has approved a list of “unfriendly countries”, which includes Czechia and the United States;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the current confrontation between the EU and the government of the Russian Federation is not in the interests of either party and whereas this confrontation jeopardizes peace and stability of the entire European continent;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas a constructive relationship would still be in the interests of both parties and their peoples, although a constructive dialogue with the Russian authorities will require closer cooperation and unity between the Member States and more strength and firmness in its response to any provocation and aggression from Moscow;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the role of the EU as a global actor and the foreign policy competences of the EU institutions should be strengthened;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas it is in the Union's interest to strengthen the strategic, democratic and social progress of its eastern neighbourhood;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Affirms that the European Union must adopt a firmer and more forceful overall strategy towards the Russian authorities and that its Member States must unify their approaches towards Russia in order to strike a balance between firmness and openness to dialogue on issues of common interest;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Stresses that the EU's foreign and security policy approach towards the Russian authorities requires greater coordination and coherence, in particular in strategic areas such as the European Defence Union, the European Energy Union, cyber defence, cyber terrorism and strategic communication tools;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the EU, together with NATO and international partners, should deter Russia and keep stability in the EaP region by taking a more active role in the peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflicts and in the prevention of any future conflicts, by pressing Russia not to interfere in the region and to return the occupied territories in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) Considers as essential for the EU to invest in projects to strengthen its security and its joint military, counter- espionage, cyber and energy capacities;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point c b (new)
(cb) considers that the EU must step up its efforts to establish a genuine European defence within the framework of the strengthened Atlantic Alliance in order to be able to intervene with more effective, deployable, interoperable and sustainable military capabilities and forces, so as to project itself as a strong and confident international actor capable of deterring any aggression, threat or blackmail of a military nature;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) the EU should continue its work on the containment of Russian hybrid threats with instruments able to eliminate Russian hybrid influences from the EU and its Member States; notes that the EU is increasingly involved in hybrid conflicts with geopolitical adversaries, including Russia; underlines that these acts are of a particularly destabilising and dangerous nature as they blur the lines between war and peace, destabilise democracies and sow doubt in the minds of target populations; recalls that these attacks are by themselves often not serious enough to trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty or Article 42(7) TEU, though they have a strategic effect cumulatively and cannot be effectively tackled through retorsions by the affected member state; believes that the EU should therefore strive to find a solution to fill this legal vacuum by reinterpreting Article42(7) TEU and Article 222 TFEU in a way that would reserve the right for collective defence below the collective defence threshold and allow for collective countermeasures of EU Member States on a voluntary basis, and work internationally with allies for a similar solution to be found at the international level; underlines that this is the only effective means to counter the paralysis in reacting against hybrid threats and an instrument to increase the costs for our adversaries;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) increase resilience and strengthen capacities to react to hybrid treats posed by Russia and others: cyber-security, propaganda and disinformation; call out Russia each time it executes hybrid attack against the EU and the Member States; increase resilience to cyber-attacks and expand capacities of the EU StratCom, as there is a need to cover not only the East and the Western Balkans, but also disinformation in the EU space;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) deplores the fact that Russian civil society organizations and NGOs are systematically deprived by the Russian authorities of the means to fight corruption;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e b (new)
(eb) ensure a swift implementation of the incoming proposals of the European Parliament Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE);
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e c (new)
(ec) strengthen the EU’s role as a global player, as well as the capacities of the EU institutions, not allow Russia to continue a so-called bilateralization of relations with the EU, as Brussels should be the only capital where key decisions about the EU-Russia relations are taken;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e d (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e d (new)
(ed) the EU should maintain close coordination with transatlantic partners in implementing decisions towards Russia, and, in coordination with transatlantic partners, consider additional sanctions to Russia should it fail to reduce tensions on Ukraine’s borders; sanctions against Russia can only be lifted or mitigated once Russia has fully implemented the Minsk agreements;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point g c (new)
(gc) increase efforts to curb the Kremlin’s strategic investments, which often stem from the EU Member States through the financial flows of Russian oligarchs and companies set up to fund Russia’s malign interference and spread of corruption in the EU;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g e (new)
Paragraph 1 – point g e (new)
(ge) strengthen the European banking system in order to detect and prevent money laundering by Russia and other countries;
Amendment 425 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
(ka) Condemns the role of Russia in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 and its attempts to undermine the criminal investigation (by the Joint Investigation Team) by deliberately spreading disinformation; recalls the full support of the international community to achieve justice for the 298 victims of the downing of Flight MH17 and demands Russia’s full cooperation in the search for the people responsible and bringing them to justice;
Amendment 433 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
(ka) demand that the Russian authorities release all those unjustly imprisoned for political reasons, including Alexei Navalny, Alexei Pichugin, Yuri Dmitriev, and all the others designated by the Memorial Human Rights Centre as “political prisoners” in accordance with the criteria of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1900 (2012)
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point k b (new)
(kb) the EU should support Russian civil society and foster people-to-people contacts between the EU and Russian citizens, particularly as Russian citizens are the biggest recipients of Schengen visas in the world, most of which are multiple-entry and multiannual; consider reducing the visa fee for Russian citizens and lead an effective information campaign to show that the EU is welcoming to the Russian people;
Amendment 450 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l
Paragraph 1 – point l
(l) the EU should confront the Russian-language propaganda of President Putin’s regime and support the establishment of a Free Russia Free Television with 24/7 airtime;
Amendment 474 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) the EU should adopt and announcpromote 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 aiming among others at the stability of the continent and the full respect of its international borders; it should also convey the potential benefits that it is willing to offer in return for a democratic transformation of Russia;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n b (new)
(nb) therefore stresses the importance of intensifying dialogue with the Russian people and of strengthening political and financial support for civil society activists, human rights defenders, independent media, investigative journalists, academics and public figures and NGOs; calls on the EU Member States to contribute more -materially and technically - to this support;
Amendment 485 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n c (new)
(nc) suggests that the EU-Russia parliamentary delegation should take on the task of identifying persons of interest, playing a leading role in society, who would be open to the establishment of a constructive and uninterrupted dialogue and to setting up an agenda of public contacts with Russian civil society, its universities, its major scientific and cultural institutions, its non-governmental organizations, its political movements and its artistic and intellectual circles;
Amendment 488 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n d (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n d (new)
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n e (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n e (new)
(ne) urges the EU to establish a binding legal framework enabling it to react strongly to campaigns aimed at undermining democracy or the rule of law, including through targeted action against those responsible for such campaigns;
Amendment 492 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n f (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n f (new)
(nf) is deeply concerned about the links between the Russian government and far- right parties and populist governments in the EU and must fight against aggressions to democracy;
Amendment 494 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n g (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n g (new)
(ng) stresses that money laundering and criminal financial activities perpetrated by Russian nationals constitute a threat to the security and stability of Europe;