Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-09-Speech-3-045"
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"en.20070509.12.3-045"2
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".
Mr President, is it not, in some way, symbolic that 9 May should be the day on which we debate the relationship between the European Union and Russia? It is a day of historic reflection and, in the European Union, the day on which we celebrate Europe Day. This year, we can more specifically look back on 50 years of European cooperation, and 9 May is the day on which Russia celebrates the end of the Second World War– a war that divided Europe, but was also the motive for European unification. In actual fact, 9 May should be a day on which we reflect on the common experiences that unite us and that, moreover, can also be used as a basis for a common future.
The situation is not as bright, unfortunately. If we look ahead to the half-yearly EU-Russia Summit that is to take place in Samara next Friday, we have to conclude that the prospects for a constructive dialogue – which we all want – are not good. There is, of course, enough to talk about, and we are still persuaded – something that has been underlined by the previous speakers – that close cooperation between the European Union and Russia really is the only viable option for the future, given the shared interests on both sides of our continent.
There are also areas in which we joined forces in recent years and which we would like make a point of mentioning, for example, the importance of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Iran's and North Korea's nuclear ambitions and how to counter these, or cooperation surrounding the Kyoto Protocol.
Turning to the business and economic relations between Russia and the European Union, I often get the feedback that these are developing according to plan. How we further develop our partner relationship, however, remains to some extent uncertain.
There are important areas in which we have not yet managed to make any progress. How, for example, can we guarantee the clear and transparent energy relations that we seek? How do our common values of democracy and respecting human rights fit into the strategic EU-Russia partnership? These are of fundamental importance to us and my group, and cannot be the subject of concession in the dialogue. It is, as I see it, up to the European Union to make clear in Samara where we stand, particularly also in the run-up to fresh negotiations about a future partnership agreement. We, like others, are concerned that this summit will produce less than what we would have expected a while back.
I could list a ream of other things that have also been included in the joint resolution. Something which, not least on behalf of my group, I should like to stress is that the increasing polarisation in the run-up to the Duma elections later this year fills us with fear and concern. It is of key importance for the European Union to stress that we want the elections to be held in a free and democratic context and that it is unacceptable for the opposition parties to be thwarted in the way this is currently being done.
I do not wish to repeat what has been said on the Estonia issue, and, in actual fact, I endorse everything that the previous speakers have said about it. Let us hope that Russia’s attitude and behaviour in this matter is not symptomatic, and we must hammer home the fact that a repeat occurrence would be unacceptable to us.
Until 1991, Samara was a closed city, because part of it was located in a strategic zone of the Soviet Union. We hope that this is not indicative of what we can expect from next week’s meeting. I think that both partners would benefit from reconsidering our common interest, not least with the EU in mind, without overlooking the values on which our partnership must be based, namely democracy, human rights and respect for other countries."@en1
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