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2012/2142(INI) Establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case. Recommendation to the Council
RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead AFET OJULAND Kristiina (ALDE)
Opinion LIBE
Lead committee dossier: AFET/7/09989
Legal Basis RoP 121-p3, RoP 097

Activites

  • 2012/10/23 Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
    • T7-0369/2012
  • 2012/10/22 Debate in Parliament
  • 2012/09/26 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
    • A7-0285/2012 summary
  • 2012/09/20 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • 2012/08/29 Amendments tabled in committee
  • 2012/07/05 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • 2012/07/04 Committee draft report
  • 2012/07/03 EP officialisation
  • 2012/04/12 Non-legislative basic document published
    • B7-0196/2012 summary
  • 2012/04/12 Non-legislative basic document
    • B7-0196/2012 summary

Documents

  • Non-legislative basic document published: B7-0196/2012
  • Committee draft report: PE492.835
  • Non-legislative basic document: B7-0196/2012
  • Amendments tabled in committee: PE494.666
  • Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A7-0285/2012
  • Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0369/2012
AmendmentsDossier
11 2012/2142(INI)
2012/08/30 AFET 11 amendments...
source: PE-494.666

History

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

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    • Pursuant to Rule 121(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Guy VERHOFSTADT (ADLE, BE), and Kristiina OJULAND (ADLE, EE) propose, on behalf of the ALDE group, a draft recommendation on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case.

      To recall, the arrest and subsequent death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky represents a well documented and substantial case of disrespect for fundamental human rights in Russia, and serves as a chilling reminder of the many documented shortcomings in the respect shown for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Russia;

      It is also recalled that Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, has committed itself to fully respecting fundamental rights and the rule of law, and the European Union has repeatedly offered additional assistance and expertise to help Russia modernise, and abide by, its constitutional and legal order, in line with Council of Europe standards.

      The following points are made: (i) there is an increasing need for a firm, robust and comprehensive EU policy towards Russia, offering support and assistance backed up by firm and fair criticism, including sanctions and restrictive measures when needed; (ii) visa restrictions and other restrictive measures are not traditional judicial sanctions per se, but constitute a political signal of the EU’s concern to a larger target audience and thus remain a necessary and legitimate foreign policy tool.

      Accordingly, the following recommendations are addressed to the Council:

      • to establish a common EU list of officials responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, for the subsequent judicial cover-up and for the ongoing and sustained harassment of his mother and widow;
      • to impose and implement an EU-wide visa ban on these officials and to freeze any financial assets they or their immediate family may hold inside the European Union;
      • to call on Russia to conduct a credible and independent investigation encompassing all aspects of this tragic case.
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    • The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the own-initiative report by Kristiina OJULANDON (ALDE, EE) establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case. Recalling Russia’s membership of the Council of Europe and of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which entails full respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law, Members state that the arrest, conditions of detention and subsequent death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky represent a well documented and substantial case of disrespect for fundamental human rights. Furthermore, the posthumous prosecution of Sergei Magnitsky is a violation of international and national laws and clearly shows the malfunctioning of the Russian criminal justice system. The committee notes that despite the 2011 conclusions of the inquiry conducted by the Russian President’s Human Rights Council on the illegality of Sergei Magnitsky’s arrest, the investigations are stalled and the officials involved have been exonerated and even assigned to the posthumous case.

      The report cites the adoption of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act by the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee on 26 June 2012, seeking to impose visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials allegedly involved in the detention, abuse and death of Sergei Magnitsky, as well as the fact that several national parliaments of EU Member States – among them Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Poland – have already passed resolutions urging their governments to introduce sanctions. It addresses the following recommendations to the Council:

      ·        to establish a common EU list of officials responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, for the subsequent judicial cover-up and for the ongoing and sustained harassment of his mother and widow;

      ·        to impose and implement an EU-wide visa ban on these officials and to freeze any financial assets they or their immediate family may hold inside the European Union;

      ·        to call on Russia to conduct a credible and independent investigation encompassing all aspects of this tragic case, and to bring all those responsible to justice;

      ·        to urge the Russian authorities to put an end to the widespread corruption and to reform the judicial system, and bring it into line with international standards, by creating an independent, just and transparent system that cannot, under any circumstances, be misused for political reasons;

      ·        to raise, in the course of bilateral meetings with Russian authorities, this issue as well as the issue of intimidation and impunity in cases involving human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers, in a more determined, resolute and result-oriented manner.

      Whilst acknowledging that visa restrictions and other restrictive measures are not traditional judicial sanctions per se, Members state they constitute a political signal of the EU’s concern to a larger target audience and thus remain a necessary and legitimate foreign policy tool. EU sanctions on the Magnitsky case could prompt the Russian authorities to make genuine and fresh efforts to address, in a more concrete and convincing manner, the question of the rule of law in Russia and the current climate of impunity.

      Lastly, the report encourages the Council to take a coherent and proactive stance on other serious human rights violations in Russia, on the basis of well documented, converging and independent sources and convincing evidence, and to introduce similar restrictive measures against offenders as a last resort measure.

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    • Pursuant to Rule 121(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Guy VERHOFSTADT (ADLE, BE), and Kristiina OJULAND (ADLE, EE) propose, on behalf of the ALDE group, a draft recommendation on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case.

      To recall, the arrest and subsequent death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky represents a well documented and substantial case of disrespect for fundamental human rights in Russia, and serves as a chilling reminder of the many documented shortcomings in the respect shown for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Russia;

      It is also recalled that Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, has committed itself to fully respecting fundamental rights and the rule of law, and the European Union has repeatedly offered additional assistance and expertise to help Russia modernise, and abide by, its constitutional and legal order, in line with Council of Europe standards.

      The following points are made: (i) there is an increasing need for a firm, robust and comprehensive EU policy towards Russia, offering support and assistance backed up by firm and fair criticism, including sanctions and restrictive measures when needed; (ii) visa restrictions and other restrictive measures are not traditional judicial sanctions per se, but constitute a political signal of the EU’s concern to a larger target audience and thus remain a necessary and legitimate foreign policy tool.

      Accordingly, the following recommendations are addressed to the Council:

      • to establish a common EU list of officials responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, for the subsequent judicial cover-up and for the ongoing and sustained harassment of his mother and widow;
      • to impose and implement an EU-wide visa ban on these officials and to freeze any financial assets they or their immediate family may hold inside the European Union;
      • to call on Russia to conduct a credible and independent investigation encompassing all aspects of this tragic case.
    activities/1/docs/0/text
    • Pursuant to Rule 121(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Guy VERHOFSTADT (ADLE, BE), and Kristiina OJULAND (ADLE, EE) propose, on behalf of the ALDE group, a draft recommendation on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case.

      To recall, the arrest and subsequent death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky represents a well documented and substantial case of disrespect for fundamental human rights in Russia, and serves as a chilling reminder of the many documented shortcomings in the respect shown for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Russia;

      It is also recalled that Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, has committed itself to fully respecting fundamental rights and the rule of law, and the European Union has repeatedly offered additional assistance and expertise to help Russia modernise, and abide by, its constitutional and legal order, in line with Council of Europe standards.

      The following points are made: (i) there is an increasing need for a firm, robust and comprehensive EU policy towards Russia, offering support and assistance backed up by firm and fair criticism, including sanctions and restrictive measures when needed; (ii) visa restrictions and other restrictive measures are not traditional judicial sanctions per se, but constitute a political signal of the EU’s concern to a larger target audience and thus remain a necessary and legitimate foreign policy tool.

      Accordingly, the following recommendations are addressed to the Council:

      • to establish a common EU list of officials responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, for the subsequent judicial cover-up and for the ongoing and sustained harassment of his mother and widow;
      • to impose and implement an EU-wide visa ban on these officials and to freeze any financial assets they or their immediate family may hold inside the European Union;
      • to call on Russia to conduct a credible and independent investigation encompassing all aspects of this tragic case.
    activities
    • date: 2012-04-12T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B7-2012-196&language=EN type: Non-legislative basic document title: B7-0196/2012 body: EP type: Non-legislative basic document
    • date: 2012-04-12T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B7-2012-196&language=EN type: Non-legislative basic document published title: B7-0196/2012 body: EC type: Non-legislative basic document published commission:
    • body: EP date: 2012-07-03T00:00:00 type: EP officialisation
    • date: 2012-07-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE492.835 type: Committee draft report title: PE492.835 body: EP type: Committee draft report
    • date: 2012-07-05T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: AFET date: 2012-06-18T00:00:00 committee_full: Foreign Affairs rapporteur: group: ALDE name: OJULAND Kristiina body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
    • body: EP date: 2012-08-29T00:00:00 type: Deadline Amendments
    • body: EP date: 2012-09-20T00:00:00 type: Prev Adopt in Cte
    • date: 2012-10-22T00:00:00 body: EP type: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
    committees
    • body: EP responsible: True committee: AFET date: 2012-06-18T00:00:00 committee_full: Foreign Affairs rapporteur: group: ALDE name: OJULAND Kristiina
    • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
    links
    other
      procedure
      dossier_of_the_committee
      AFET/7/09989
      geographical_area
      Russian Federation
      reference
      2012/2142(INI)
      title
      Establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case. Recommendation to the Council
      legal_basis
      stage_reached
      Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
      type
      INI - Own-initiative procedure
      subject