Activities of Rebecca HARMS related to 2018/2158(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
State of EU-Russia political relations (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the state of EU-Russia political relations PDF (196 KB) DOC (65 KB)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the EU’s relations with Russia must be based on the principles of international law, peaceful conflict resolution and credible deterrence, and on a principled approach in areas of common interest as defined in the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 14 March 2016;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the Russian Federation, as a full member of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has committed itself to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights; whereas continued serious violations of the rule of law and the adoption of restrictive laws over the last years are increasing questioning Russia's compliance with its international and national obligations; whereas Russia failed to implement more than a thousand judgements of the European Court of Human Rights;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas new areas of tension between the EU and Russia have arisen since 2015, including: Russian intervention in Syria; large-scale military exercises (Zapad 2017); rRussian interference aimed at influencing elections and stoking tensions in European societies; Kremlin support for anti-EU parties and far right movements; restrictions on fundamental freedoms and extensive human rights violations in Russia, including the systemic targeting of human rights defenders and civil society in Russia, including the arbitrary detention of Oyub Titiev, head of Human Rights Centre Memorial (HRC Memorial) office in Chechnya or the case of Yuri Dmitriev from the Karelian branch of "Memorial", stigmatising civil society by labelling them as “Foreign Agents”; gross violations of human rights in the North Caucasus, in particular in the Chechen Republic (abductions, torture, extrajudicial executions, fabrication of criminal cases, etc.); discrimination against the Tatar minority in occupied Crimea, and the politically motivated persecution of Alexei Navalny and many others; cyber attacks and assassinations on European soil carried out by Russian intelligence agents using chemical weapons; the intimidation, arrest and imprisonment of foreign citizens in Russia in breach of international law, including Oleg Sentsov and many others; the organisation of illegal and illegitimate elections in the Donbas; flawed presidential elections lacking any real choice and with restrictions on fundamental freedoms; violations of arms control agreements;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas in Russia there is an increased state control over press and media freedom; whereas on 25 November 2017 President Putin signed a Law on Media Foreign Agents, according to which media outlets with the status of “foreign agent“ will be bound by the same requirements as for NGOs considered “foreign agents“; whereas on 5 December 2017 the Ministry of Justice decided to include nine media outlets such as Crimea Realia, the Russian service of RFE/RL and Voice of America, in the newly created register of “Foreign Mass Media Serving as Foreign Agents“;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas as of 1 March 2018, Human Rights Center Memorial had recorded 143 cases of political prisoners including 97 who were persecuted on religious grounds; whereas an analysis of the Human Rights Center Memorial’s list of political prisoners shows that in 2017 in 23 cases people were prosecuted for crimes relating to public events (mass riots, violent actions against a public authority) and in 21 cases, which were mostly linked with publishing posts on the Internet, prosecutions were initiated under the “anti-extremist” articles of the criminal code;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas Russia is directly or indirectly party to a number of protracted conflicts in the common neighbourhood – in Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhasia, Donbass and Nagorno Karabakh – that constitute serious impediments to the development and stability of the neighbouring countries concerned, undermine their independence and limit their free sovereign choices;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas the current persisting tension and confrontation between the EU and Russia are not in the interest of both parties; whereas channels of communication should remain open in spite of the disappointing results; whereas the new division of the continent is jeopardising the security of both the EU and Russia;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas energy continues to play a central and strategic role in EU-Russia relations; whereas energy is a key instrument of Russian foreign policy; whereas the EU's strong dependency on fossil fuels undermines the development of a balanced, coherent and value-driven European approach vis-à-vis Russia; whereas it is of the utmost importance for the EU to speak with one voice and show strong internal solidarity;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Stresses that enhanced cooperation and good-neighbourly relations between the EU and Russia are of crucial importance for the stability, security and prosperity of the whole European continent; is of the opinion, furthermore, that cooperation at international level between the two partners in all institutions, organisations and forums is of the utmost importance with a view to improving global governance and addressing common challenges;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that Russia's direct and indirect involvement in armed conflicts in the common neighbourhood and its illegal annexation of Crimea and violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine constitute a deliberate violation of democratic principles and fundamental values;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the EU cannot envisage a gradual return to 'business as usual' as long as Russia does not fully implement the Minsk agreement and restores the territorial integrity of Ukraine; calls, in this regard, for a critical comprehensive re-assessment by the EU of its relations with the Russian Federation;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes therefore that the EU- Russia relationship requires a new pragmatic framework of selective cooperation only in those areas that are necessary and in a common interest, and with a view to guaranteeing security in the EU’s neighbourhood and a European peace order; is of the view that the PCAEU should be discontinuedstart procedures to activate article 2 of the PCA in order to suspend the agreement until the basic conditions included in it are fully respected by the Russian Federation;
Amendment 155 #
3. Believes that non-implementation of the Minsk Agreements demonstrates Russia's lack of good will; asks for consultations to be advanced within the Normandy format; calls for more direct engagement of the EU in the conflict resolution;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Regrets, furthermore, Russia’s efforts to destabilise EU candidate countries with regard, in particular as an example, to the support provided by Moscow to the organisations and political forces opposing the Prespa agreement that should end the long standing dispute on the name between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Regrets the significant deterioration in the human rights situation, widespread and undue restrictions to the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Russia and expresses its deep concern at the ongoing crackdown on, harassment and persecution of human rights defenders, protest activists and other critics;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Emphasises that the development of the Eastern Partnership is not aimed against Russia; stresses, in this respect, that the current level of confrontation between the EU and the Russian Federation is not in the interest of the Eastern Partnership countries and that the EU stands ready to find ways to broaden the areas of cooperation and compatibility between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union once the conditions for a genuine re-engagement are met;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the importance of continued political and financial support for people-to-people contacts in general and, in particular, for civil society activists, human rights defenders, bloggers, independent media, investigative journalists, outspoken academics and public figures, and NGOs; calls on the Commission to programme more ambitious financial assistance to Russian civil society from the existing external financial instruments and calls on the EU Member States to further contribute to this assistance;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls for the European institutions and Member States to step up their support for civil society and human rights defenders in a flexible manner, to enhance trial observation and ensure appropriate follow-up, to reinforce protection measures for human rights defenders (including access to multi-entry Schengen Visas), to undertake high level meetings with Russian human rights defenders and to publicly urge the Russian authorities to foster a favourable working climate for human rights defenders and to ensure immediate release of human rights defenders currently in jail on trumped up charges;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the EU institutions and Member States to make greater efforts to build resilience, particularly in the cyber and media fields, including mechanisms to detect and fight election interference; calls for EU-wide support for the European cyber-security industry and a stronger engagement in research; encourages, in this context, the promotion of European values in Russian by East Stratcom;
Amendment 360 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Supports the swift completion of an integrated European Energy Union that would in future include the Eastern Partners; stresses the role that an ambitious policy of energy efficiency and renewables can play in this regard;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Supports increased funding for the European Endowment for Democracy, the Russian Language News Exchange (RLNE) and other instruments to advance democracy and human rights;