The European Parliament,
– having regard to the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part(1), and the negotiations initiated in 2008 on a new EU-Russia agreement,
– having regard to the objective shared by the EU and Russia, set out in the joint statement issued following the 11th EU-Russia Summit held in St Petersburg on 31 May 2003, of creating a common economic space, a common space of freedom, security and justice, a common space of cooperation in the field of external security and a common space of research and education, including cultural aspects (the ‘four common spaces’),
– having regard to its previous reports and resolutions on Russia and on EU-Russia relations, in particular its resolution of 17 February 2011(2) on the rule of law, of 17 June 2010 on the EU/Russia Summit, of 12 November 2009(3) prior to the EU-Russia Summit held in Stockholm on 18 November 2009, its resolution of 17 September 2009 on the murder of human rights activists in Russia(4) and its resolution of 17 September 2009 on external aspects of energy security(5),
– having regard to the EU-Russia human rights consultations and its latest meeting on 4 May 2011,
– having regard to the agreements signed and the joint statements issued at the EU-Russia Summit held in Rostov-on-Don from 31 May to 1 June 2010,
– having regard to the upcoming EU-Russia summit in Nischni-Novgorod 9/10 June 2011,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, shares responsibility with the EU for maintaining global stability, and whereas enhanced cooperation and good-neighbourly relations between the EU and Russia are of major importance for the stability, security and prosperity of Europe and beyond,
B. whereas the EU and Russia are mutually interdependent both economically and politically; whereas the European Union continues to be committed to further deepen and develop the relations between the EU and Russia, based on a deep commitment to democratic principles, respects for fundamental and human rights and the rule of law,
C. whereas many challenges on international level in particular with regards to the Middle East, Libya, Iran, terrorism, energy security, climate change and the financial crises will not be overcome without responsible and cooperative relations with Russia,
D. whereas 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 from the Georgian occupied provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia and does not guarantee full unlimited access for the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) to their territories,
E. whereas Russia as a member of the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the UN has committed itself to respect and to implement the fundamental principles of these organisations,
1. Calls on the EU and Russia to take the opportunity of the upcoming summit to intensify negotiations on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement based on the mutual interdependence of the EU and Russia and stresses its strong support for a comprehensive, legally binding agreement that concerns the political, economic and social system and therefore includes also all areas related to democracy, rule of law, respect of human and fundamental rights which should pave the way for a win-win outcome with Russia, providing Russia is ready to take steps to enhance the rule of law and the respect of human rights;
2. Reiterates its support for the Partnership for Modernisation but also stresses the need to agree on the next steps in line with results achieved so far in the context of the four European Union - Russia Common Spaces as well as with remaining gaps; supports especially the cooperation in the field of research and development and stresses that the four Common Spaces rely on the principle of reciprocity; calls therefore on the upcoming EU-Russia summit to take action to formulate concrete goals; underlines in this context the need to involve and implement the human right standards that have already been formulated in the framework of the PCA and stresses the importance to tackle the issues of an effective, independent functioning of the judiciary and the strengthening of the fight against corruption; stresses that the EU is prepared to contribute in every possible way to improve the effectiveness of an independent rule of law system in Russia; welcomes that Russia announced to sign the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials;
3. Reiterates its support for Russia’s accession to the WTO, which will create a level playing field for business communities on both sides and will facilitate and liberalise the trade in the global economy; stresses that a prerequisite for the WTO accession is that Russia fulfils all WTO rules including the renouncement to any protectionist measures, this includes the rectification of trade irritants, like the Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus customs union, which has led to higher consolidated tariffs, before Russia's accession to the WTO;
4. Takes note of the ongoing dialogue between the EU and Russia on further visa facilitation; underlines that this dialogue should be in tune with the visa facilitation process concerning Eastern Partnership countries;
calls on the High Representative and the Commission to convince Russia to cease issuing passports to citizens of the occupied provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; emphasises the necessity to prevent any breach of safety in Europe; welcomes the discussions of the Standing Partnership Council in Saint Petersburg on 19 May 2011 on the establishment of a list of common steps; calls for further cooperation on illegal immigration, improved controls at cross-border checkpoints and information exchange on terrorism and organised crime;
5. Stresses 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 depth of Russia’s conviction to follow the path of modernisation and democratisation; the supply of natural resources should not be used as a political tool; calls for the principals of the Energy Charter and the Transit Protocol to be included in the new PCA to ensure a reliable and secure energy supply based on equal standards to all EU Member States; stresses that the principles of interdependence and transparency should be the basis of such cooperation, together with equal access to markets, infrastructure and investment; welcomes the interest also on the Russian side for a legally binding energy framework; calls for close cooperation between the EU and Russia in terms of raw material and rare earth supply especially of those that are considered critical and calls in this context for the respect of international rules, especially WTO rules;
6. Stresses the importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Russia being free and fair when based on the implementation of election standards set by Council of Europe and OSCE; expresses its disagreement regarding the eventual restriction of opposition parties to register for the elections and calls on Russia to take action to implement election standards set by the Council of Europe and the OSCE; urges the Russian authorities to allow an OSCE/ Council of Europe long-term election observation and calls on the HR/VP to insist on the establishment of such a mission;
7. Reaffirms the urgent need for Russia to implement fundamental principles of democracy, rule of law, human rights and media freedom as basis for cooperation; calls on Russia to take concrete action to improve its human rights record and to protect journalists, human rights activists and opposition representatives from violence and intimidation; outlines the importance of continuous and sincere dialogue on human rights as part of the EU-Russia Human Rights Consultations and reiterates its call for an improvement in the structure of the well-defined dialogue also taking individual cases into account, in order to enhance their effectiveness; underlines the need to maintain close contacts and support programmes for the development of civil society in Russia; expresses strong concern on the status of NGOs and human rights defenders in Russia;
8. Expresses its concern over the increased violations of human rights in Russia and the lack of rule of law and independent judiciary; criticises the ruling of the Russian appeal court against Mikhail Khordorkovsky and his business associate Platon Lebedev on 26 May 2011 as a continuation of politically motivated court decisions; condemns political interference with the trial; welcomes the ECHR ruling in this case and the arrest of the suspected assassin of Anna Politkovskaya; calls furthermore for in real depth and independent investigations of the incarceration and death of Sergei Magnitsky and other political prisoners; welcomes the convictions relating to the murders of Anastasiya Baburova and Stanislav Markelov, and calls on Russian authorities to continue their work in this case;
9. Expresses its concerns regarding the fatal incidents in Nagorno-Karabakh and welcomes the joint statement of the G8 partners published on 26 May 2011 that stresses agreement on taking a decisive step towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh; calls on Russia to fulfil its responsibility in this conflict; urges the HR/VP to undertake steps in order to prevent a potential escalation of the conflict and calls for disincentives vis-à-vis any parties that breaches the Bishkek ceasefire agreement;
10. Calls on Russia to respect the agreements it has signed and to fulfil all of the conditions under the Six-point ceasefire agreement and to immediately withdraw its troops from the occupied Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia;
11. Calls on Russia to take a constructive stance in the case of Transnistria and the negotiations about the conflict there and expresses its opinion of Transnistria being a test for EU-Russia mutual support in solving ‘frozen conflicts’;
12. States that Russia, which has veto power in the UN Security Council, has to take up its responsibility in international crises and has to fully guarantee and respect the sovereignty of its neighbouring countries;
13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
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