Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-09-Speech-3-065"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070509.12.3-065"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner Verheugen just described Russia as our number one strategic partner in Europe, but any strategic partnership is conditional upon the presence of common interests, goals and values, which, I believe, are distinctly conspicuous by their absence in this instance. What, in any case, does a strategic partnership mean to the Russians if such conditions are attached to it? Do the Russians have any kind of conception of what a constructive strategic partnership with the European Union actually is, considering the way they are behaving towards Estonia, and have already done in Kosovo and Moldova? What kind of constructive foreign policy agenda do the Russians have?
You, Commissioner, went on to demand of a strategic partner of the EU an unambiguous commitment to democracy and human rights and the constant effort to make them a reality. Did you not see the pictures of the demonstrators in Moscow and St Petersburg? You are also having talks with the Russians about the human rights dialogue, which has now been hived off from the main summit on the grounds that it would be too difficult and would put too much of a strain on the ordinary summit agenda if one were to talk with the Russians about human rights there.
You say, Commissioner, that we want Russia to be a strong partner. Now, I am no less a friend of Russia than Mr Tannock, and I want Russia to be strong, but strong in the true sense of the word, a Russia that respects human rights, the rights of minorities, the right of assembly, the freedom of the press, rather than a Potemkin Russia whose strength is founded on oil and authoritarianism. If we want to take seriously the underpinning of European foreign policy by certain values, then the least we must do is to bring together the two summits – that is to say, the real summit between the EU and Russia and the human rights dialogue between the two, which has hitherto always taken place, shamefully hidden away, a fortnight before the summit proper.
I would like to see dialogue. So would the Russian opposition, who were with us in this House last week; they too would like dialogue between the EU and Russia, and I hope that such a dialogue will bear fruit, but past experience tends to make me sceptical. I will conclude by saying how glad I am that we are having this debate in Brussels rather than in Strasbourg."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples