Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-01-Speech-3-114"
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"en.20041201.12.3-114"2
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"Mr President, no one is likely to question the fact that Russia is one of the EU’s most important partners, yet at the same time few people in Europe would question the fact that Russia is a very difficult partner. On the one hand, we are linked by extremely close economic ties that benefit both sides, yet on the other hand, tensions are increasingly being felt between the two parties in the political sphere, and very far-reaching differences of opinion are becoming apparent. In spite of what is said by some in Europe, and what was said earlier by some of the Members of this House, we should not fear such differences. On the contrary, our experience of countries which were in the so-called Soviet sphere of influence for many years has taught us that a genuine partnership and respect from the Russian side will only become possible if we state our views clearly and firmly, even if these views are extremely critical of certain aspects of Russian politics.
In this context, I should like to congratulate Mr Balkenende and the entire Dutch Presidency for their clear and firm approach during the EU-Russia summit on 25 November. In the days after this summit we saw that we were right in our assessment of political events in Ukraine, and this continues to be the case today. I should also like to remind Mr Rogalksi that Ukraine is not a part of Russia, and so speaking out in defence of free and democratic elections for the Ukrainian people does not constitute interference in Russia’s domestic affairs. Ukraine is a separate state and a separate nation, and I should ask you to bear this in mind. Thanks to the position taken by the Dutch Presidency, the EU is gaining face in the eyes of the European nations, after a long period during which too many European leaders pretended not to see, or indeed did not see, the problems which arose with regard to relations with Russia in the past, such as the centralisation of power at the cost of a still-fragile democracy, Russia’s policy on the Caucasus or the reconstruction of the Russian ‘sphere of influence’. I should like to thank Mr Balkenende for the position he adopted during the EU-Russia summit."@en1
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