Activites

• 2011/06/09 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T7-0268/2011 summary

    Following the debate which took place during the sitting of 8 June 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the EU Russia summit held in Nizhny Novgorod in June 2011. The resolution was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, ECR and Greens/EFA groups.It calls on the EU and Russia to take the opportunity of the upcoming summit to intensify negotiations on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), and stresses its strong support for a comprehensive, legally binding agreement that concerns the political, economic and social system. It must include all areas related to democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, which should be an integral part of the agreement, provided that Russia is ready to take steps to enhance the rule of law and respect for human rights. Members reiterate their support for the Partnership for Modernisation, stressing the need to agree on the next steps in line with results achieved so far in the context of the four EU-Russia Common Spaces as well as with remaining gaps. The parties to the EU-Russia summit are asked to take action to formulate concrete goals. Members stress the importance of tackling the issues of an effective, independent functioning of the judiciary and stepping up the fight against corruption. The EU is prepared to contribute in every possible way to improve the effectiveness of an independent rule-of-law system in Russia. Parliament hopes that the Summit will help to solve the last issues related to Russia's accession to the WTO, following the bilateral agreement in December 2010 between the EU and Russia on enabling the country to accede to the WTO. On this issue, it calls on the Russian authorities not to misuse sanitary grounds for unjustified protectionist measures and to review the current ban on all imports of EU vegetables. On visa liberalisation, Parliament reiterates its commitment to the long-term objective of visa-free travel between the EU and Russia, and calls on the High Representative and the Commission to persuade Russia to cease issuing passports to residents of the occupied provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It notes that almost three years after the conflict with Georgia, Russia still does not respect the agreements of 12 August and 8 September 2008 on the withdrawal of troops to the pre-conflict positions from the Georgian occupied provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia and does not guarantee the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) access to these territories. Accordingly, Members call on Russia to respect the agreements it has signed, to fulfil all of the conditions under the Six-point Ceasefire Agreement and to withdraw its troops from the occupied Georgian territories to the pre-conflict positions as well as to guarantee the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) access to those territories. Parliament goes on to stress the importance of energy security and is of the opinion that Russia's energy policy vis-à-vis Member States and countries in the common neighbourhood will be a litmus test of the real seriousness of Russia's intention to follow the path of modernisation and democratisation. It underlines that the supply of natural resources should not be used as a political tool. It also reiterates the EU's interest in a balanced trilateral EU-Russia-Ukraine solution for future gas supplies to the EU. Members emphasise the need to ensure that the principles of the Energy Charter and the Transit Protocol annexed thereto are included in a new Partnership Agreement between the EU and Russia. They welcome the signature in February 2011 of an updated Early Warning Mechanism as well as the agreement to set up a Gas Advisory Forum.  They call for close cooperation between the EU and Russia with regard to the international negotiations on a comprehensive post-2012 climate policy framework under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The resolution underlines that the Summit comes at a crucial time in the preparations for the State Duma elections and points out that some registration procedures for political parties and candidate lists have proved to be unjustified and therefore an obstacle to free and fair elections. It calls on Russia to take action to implement election standards set by the Council of Europe and the OSCE and wants the HR/VP to insist on the establishment of an election observation mission. Parliament goes on to calls on Russia to take concrete action to improve its human rights record and to protect journalists, human rights activists, minorities and opposition representatives from violence and intimidation. It expresses concern about the status of NGOs and human rights defenders in Russia. Members note with concern the ruling handed down by the Russian appeal court against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business associate Platon Lebedev on 26 May 2011 as a continuation of politically motivated court decisions, and condemn political interference with the trial. They welcome President Medvedev's decision to examine this case in the Presidential Human Rights Council.Parliament regrets that, contrary to Russia's obligations as a member of the Council of Europe, peaceful citizens' gatherings continue to be banned and violently dispersed, including a gay pride march in Moscow for the sixth consecutive year. It expects EU delegations and diplomats to actively implement the Toolkit to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by LGBT People in the future. Members also call on Russia to help to solve the conflict Nagorno-Karabakh instead of delivering weapons to both parties to the conflict, and they urge the HR/VP to take steps to prevent a potential escalation of the conflict and call for disincentives vis-à-vis any parties that breach the Bishkek ceasefire agreement.Lastly, Parliament reminds the Commission of the proposal, adopted by the European Parliament in the 2011 budget, to set up an EU-Russia civil society dialogue in connection with the biennial EU-Russia Summits, and it calls for the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum to be included in the framework of the Partnership for Modernisation.

• 2011/06/08 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament

Documents

• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0268/2011

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)