Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-01-Speech-3-038"
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"en.20090401.12.3-038"2
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"Russia is a very important international player, a permanent member of the Security Council and the G8 and a major military power. For these simple reasons the European Union should try to establish a relationship of dialogue and cooperation with Russia. What is more, many Member States depend on Russia for energy and have significant trade with it.
However, the relationship should go further and be more ambitious. Russia is a European country and member of the Council of Europe; it has made commitments in the area of human rights and democratic freedoms and should share a set of values and principles with us, including respect for international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
Nevertheless, recent events indicate a worrying trend in Russia; for example, the use of energy resources as a tool for exerting pressure, including cutting off supplies, or the Georgia crisis last summer and subsequent events.
All of this has led to an erosion of trust in Russia as a European partner. We must now try to regain that trust. We want a constructive relationship with Russia as true European partners, but in order for that to happen Russia’s behaviour has to change.
In the European Union, for many reasons, some of which are historical, Member States have differing ideas of our relationship with Russia and, therefore, it is not easy to reach a common position. This is one of our weaknesses and one of our problems. However, together with approaches that may be called pragmatic or realistic, in this Parliament there is increasing belief in the idea that those partners, with whom we want very close links, must behave in accordance with international law and with respect for basic rights and freedoms, especially if they are partners who belong to the great European family.
This Parliament was delighted with the commitment President Medvedev made to human rights and the rule of law at the start of his term of office, but his words must be backed up by actions.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to believe that, in the future, the European Union will find in Russia a permanent, structural partner that shares our values, but today it seems clear to me that such a future is quite distant."@en1
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