Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-01-16-Speech-3-426"
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"en.20080116.19.3-426"2
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Mr President, I would like to thank the members of the Committee on International Trade, and above all my colleagues in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, who have actively contributed to shaping this report, which we wanted to be balanced, and which in the end was adopted unanimously.
Yes, there is great interest in the three countries in the Caucasus. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, all three of which came out of the collapse of the USSR, are still suffering from the legacy of those times today, especially through the unresolved conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and Ossetia, which are poisoning the atmosphere between them and their neighbours and have set off a damaging arms race. Nevertheless, these three countries chose to adopt European values, in the 1980s, by becoming members of the Council of Europe and, later, by signing partnership and cooperation agreements with the European Union.
Their geographical proximity and situation as a transit area between Iran, Turkey, Russia, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea mean that we have an interest in helping these countries to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in this region and to set up a viable framework for regional cooperation and development that permits political stability. This is particularly important because these countries, though they have experienced strong growth, still have high levels of poverty and unemployment.
We have analysed the possibilities for taking action in different sections that I will briefly summarise. Firstly, within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, we have insisted upon a differentiated approach based on individual merits, while making regional cooperation a key objective. We are asking the Commission to extend these contacts with civil society, and we particularly support the initiative of undertaking a feasibility study on a free-trade agreement with Georgia and Armenia and of supporting Azerbaijan in its process of accession to the WTO.
Democracy, human rights and the rule of law are obviously a fundamental part of this and we commend the efforts made by Armenia following the constitutional reform, but we encourage it to continue with the establishment of an independent judiciary and civil service. Regarding Azerbaijan, although we are concerned by the deterioration of the human rights situation and media freedom, on the other hand we commend the presidential pardon that has enabled several journalists to be released, and we ask for an investigation into allegations of police violence. As for Georgia, which has undertaken wide-ranging reforms since 2003 and experienced the turbulence we know about, we are pleased that the presidential elections went off peacefully, but the very tense climate and allegations of human rights abuses lead us to ask the authorities to set up an inquiry into the complaints lodged, without delay. We also ask the opposition forces to behave responsibly and respect the election. To sum up, we are asking these three countries to guarantee freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the media as well as fair and honest access to the media for the opposition, and we are asking them to step up the fight against corruption and establish a favourable investment climate. As regards the negotiations to come up with procedures for granting visas to Georgia, we can only recommend the Commission and the Council to launch them in view of what is happening in Abkhazia and Ossetia.
As for the peaceful settlement of the conflicts, this is obviously the condition sine qua non for lasting stability in the region. We have dealt with this, I believe, in a balanced way. I will not go over it again in detail; I will simply mention – as we pointed out – that the contradiction between the principle of self-determination and territorial integrity has up to now contributed to the perpetuation of the conflicts in the region, and that this problem can be overcome only through negotiations on the basis of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. Let us hope that the latest proposals from the Minsk Group will help to bridge these rifts. This would be the best present for the hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons who are suffering cruelly from this situation.
Finally, as regards cooperation on energy and transport, although it is clear that the new initiatives increase the possibilities for openness, it is becoming increasingly evident that Armenia’s isolation is only worsening.
In conclusion, I would like to recall that the sole objective of this report is to show our sincere interest in the South Caucasus region, its inhabitants, their history, their goals and their hopes, and that we would like to get to know them better so we can better help them to achieve them."@en1
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