BETA


2019/2982(RSP) Resolution on the Russian 'foreign agents' Law

Progress: Procedure completed

Legal Basis:
RoP 144

Events

2019/12/19
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   Joint motion for resolution
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Russian ‘foreign agents’ law.

The text adopted in plenary was tabled as a joint resolution by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.

In July 2012, Russia adopted a law on ‘foreign agents’ requiring Russian NGOs to register with the Russian Ministry of Justice as ‘organisations performing the functions of foreign agents’ if they receive foreign funding and engage in activities vaguely described as ‘political activities’. In June 2014, the law was amended to allow the Ministry of Justice to register NGOs as ‘foreign agents’ on its own initiative. In November 2017, the scope of the law was extended to impose the use of the ‘foreign agents’ label on any foreign media directly or indirectly receiving foreign funding. The latest amendments to the law on ‘foreign agents’, which extend the status of ‘foreign agents’ to include private persons, including bloggers and independent journalists, were signed into law on 2 December 2019 by President Vladimir Putin.

The law imposes specific requirements for registration, accounting, and labelling of publications, and makes non-compliance a criminal offence, including the possibility of sanctions with heavy administrative fines or imprisonment of up to two years.

Legislative restrictions and targeted prosecutions under the law on foreign agents in Russia have taken on more repressive forms in recent months. The law on ‘foreign agents’ is part of a broader campaign to stifle dissent, opposition, and civil society across Russia.

Repealing the ‘foreign agents’ law

Parliament strongly opposes the Russian authorities’ methods of using the power of the state to suppress freedom of expression and speech and thereby instil fear in society and called on the Russian authorities to support the impartiality of media channels and to improve the safety and working environment of journalists in Russia, including by advancing their professional skills by making use of existing international programmes.

Parliament called on the Russian authorities to immediately repeal the law on ‘foreign agents’ and to bring the existing legislation into line with Russia’s constitution and its obligations under international law. Russia should stop deliberately creating an atmosphere that is hostile to civil society.

Members considered that this law and the excessive use of fines and settlements against the media, human rights organisations and civil society to be deliberately aimed at forcing them to focus their resources on paying fines and judicial defence, and thus to limit freedom of expression.

They called on the Russian authorities to establish a framework for activities of NGOs that is clear, coherent and consistent and is in line with European and international standards, in particular by using clear definitions, by avoiding the use of stigmatising language such as ‘foreign agents’ or discriminatory legal provisions related to sources of funding, and by preventing the criminal prosecution of NGOs, media and bloggers or of individual persons carrying out activities for NGOs or media.

The EU is encouraged to:

continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in the Russian Federation and to continue monitoring court cases involving civil society organisations and activists; raise the matter of the law on ‘foreign agents’ in the institutions of the Council of Europe, primarily in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE); continuously call on Russia to repeal or amend all laws incompatible with international standards;

The VP/HR is called on to:

draw up a new and comprehensive EU-Russia strategy aimed at strengthening peace and stability; use every possibility to support civil society that promotes democratic values, rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights in Russia and to strengthen people-to-people contacts with the citizens of Russia; raise concerns about the law on ‘foreign agents’ in their contacts, meetings and communications with Russian representatives, including at the highest levels, and asks them to report back to Parliament on their exchanges with the Russian authorities.

Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament

Documents

Activities

Votes

RC-B9-0258/2019 - § 13 #

2019/12/19 Outcome: +: 499, -: 78, 0: 41
DE PL ES GB RO FR NL SE CZ AT HU PT BE DK LT FI BG SK LV HR EE LU SI MT IE CY EL IT
Total
88
45
46
43
29
59
22
17
21
16
16
19
20
12
10
8
10
12
6
7
6
6
5
5
10
6
15
59
icon: PPE PPE
146

Netherlands PPE

3

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Finland PPE

2

Latvia PPE

For (1)

1

Croatia PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

2

Slovenia PPE

3

Malta PPE

2
2
icon: S&D S&D
134

Belgium S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Finland S&D

1

Slovakia S&D

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Latvia S&D

2

Estonia S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Slovenia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Greece S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
98

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Hungary Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

Abstain (1)

2

Finland Renew

2

Slovakia Renew

2

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Estonia Renew

3

Luxembourg Renew

2

Ireland Renew

For (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
65

Spain Verts/ALE

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Austria Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Ireland Verts/ALE

2
icon: ECR ECR
57

Germany ECR

For (1)

1

United Kingdom ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

4

Sweden ECR

2

Lithuania ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Latvia ECR

2

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
28

Germany NI

Against (1)

1

Hungary NI

1

Slovakia NI

2

Croatia NI

Abstain (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
31

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Belgium GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

Cyprus GUE/NGL

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2
icon: ID ID
59

Czechia ID

Against (2)

2
3

Denmark ID

For (1)

1

Finland ID

1

Estonia ID

For (1)

1

History

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

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events/0
date
2019-12-19T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0108_EN.html title: T9-0108/2019
summary
events/0
date
2019-12-19T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0108_EN.html title: T9-0108/2019
summary
docs/6
date
2019-12-19T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0108_EN.html title: T9-0108/2019
type
Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
body
EP
events/0/summary
  • The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Russian ‘foreign agents’ law.
  • The text adopted in plenary was tabled as a joint resolution by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.
  • In July 2012, Russia adopted a law on ‘foreign agents’ requiring Russian NGOs to register with the Russian Ministry of Justice as ‘organisations performing the functions of foreign agents’ if they receive foreign funding and engage in activities vaguely described as ‘political activities’. In June 2014, the law was amended to allow the Ministry of Justice to register NGOs as ‘foreign agents’ on its own initiative. In November 2017, the scope of the law was extended to impose the use of the ‘foreign agents’ label on any foreign media directly or indirectly receiving foreign funding. The latest amendments to the law on ‘foreign agents’, which extend the status of ‘foreign agents’ to include private persons, including bloggers and independent journalists, were signed into law on 2 December 2019 by President Vladimir Putin.
  • The law imposes specific requirements for registration, accounting, and labelling of publications, and makes non-compliance a criminal offence, including the possibility of sanctions with heavy administrative fines or imprisonment of up to two years.
  • Legislative restrictions and targeted prosecutions under the law on foreign agents in Russia have taken on more repressive forms in recent months. The law on ‘foreign agents’ is part of a broader campaign to stifle dissent, opposition, and civil society across Russia.
  • Repealing the ‘foreign agents’ law
  • Parliament strongly opposes the Russian authorities’ methods of using the power of the state to suppress freedom of expression and speech and thereby instil fear in society and called on the Russian authorities to support the impartiality of media channels and to improve the safety and working environment of journalists in Russia, including by advancing their professional skills by making use of existing international programmes.
  • Parliament called on the Russian authorities to immediately repeal the law on ‘foreign agents’ and to bring the existing legislation into line with Russia’s constitution and its obligations under international law. Russia should stop deliberately creating an atmosphere that is hostile to civil society.
  • Members considered that this law and the excessive use of fines and settlements against the media, human rights organisations and civil society to be deliberately aimed at forcing them to focus their resources on paying fines and judicial defence, and thus to limit freedom of expression.
  • They called on the Russian authorities to establish a framework for activities of NGOs that is clear, coherent and consistent and is in line with European and international standards, in particular by using clear definitions, by avoiding the use of stigmatising language such as ‘foreign agents’ or discriminatory legal provisions related to sources of funding, and by preventing the criminal prosecution of NGOs, media and bloggers or of individual persons carrying out activities for NGOs or media.
  • The EU is encouraged to:
  • continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in the Russian Federation and to continue monitoring court cases involving civil society organisations and activists; raise the matter of the law on ‘foreign agents’ in the institutions of the Council of Europe, primarily in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE); continuously call on Russia to repeal or amend all laws incompatible with international standards;
  • The VP/HR is called on to:
  • draw up a new and comprehensive EU-Russia strategy aimed at strengthening peace and stability; use every possibility to support civil society that promotes democratic values, rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights in Russia and to strengthen people-to-people contacts with the citizens of Russia; raise concerns about the law on ‘foreign agents’ in their contacts, meetings and communications with Russian representatives, including at the highest levels, and asks them to report back to Parliament on their exchanges with the Russian authorities.