Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-15-Speech-4-200"
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"en.20070315.22.4-200"2
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"Mr President, honourable Members, the Commission regrets the violent attack on Galina Kozlova which took place on 25 January in the capital of the Mari Republic, and I express my sympathy to her and her family and my best wishes for her speedy recovery from her injuries. The Commission expects that the incident will be thoroughly and speedily investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. In this context I note that an investigation has been opened and that the President of the Mari Republic has reportedly demanded that it be given special priority.
More generally, the Commission is aware of the situation of Finno-Ugric indigenous peoples, such as the Mari-El people in Russia. We are also aware of the concerns raised by a number of Members of the European Parliament concerning the treatment of the Mari-El, notably with regard to the Mari language in school teaching and the harassment of journalists and the presidential elections in December 2004. The Commission took good note of Parliament’s resolution of May 2005.
The Commission sees common values, including the respect for human rights, as a cornerstone of its relations with Russia. The Commission participates actively in the EU-Russia human rights consultations, where we aim to discuss the most important issues with Russia in an open and constructive manner. It would be useful if we could, on issues such as these, move away from mutual recriminations and focus on exchanges of experience and best practice on how to deal with these problems, which can arise in many modern societies. It is for that reason that the Commission has suggested that the participation in the human rights consultations should be widened to include not only diplomats but also experts from line ministries and agencies responsible for tackling these issues on the ground.
The next round of consultations with Russia on human rights – including the rights of people belonging to minorities – and fundamental freedoms will take place on 3 May.
The Commission has raised the issue of the rights of the Mari population bilaterally with the Russian authorities. In response, they have given information on the activities which have been undertaken, financed by the government of the Mari Republic, to promote the development of art and culture in the Mari Republic, to encourage multilingualism as well as to foster traditional arts and crafts. Support is given to publishing books by authors in the Mari language, as well as their translation into Russian, for newspapers in the Mari language and for study at the University of Mari El and other institutions of higher education.
Finally, I should add that, in the roadmap for the common space on research and education, including cultural aspects, the EU and Russia have agreed to work together in order ‘to strengthen and enhance the European identity on the basis of common values, including freedom of expression, democratic functioning of the media and respect of human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities and promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity as a basis of civil society in Europe without dividing lines’. We are now working together with Russia on an action plan for cultural cooperation which will aim to translate these principles into concrete action. Exchanges in this field should help to build a better climate in which the cultures and traditions of minority populations are respected."@en1
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