RESOLUTION ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the situation in
The European
Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolution on
– having regard to its previous resolution on the
European Neighbourhood Policy of 19 January 2006,
– having regard to its recommendation of 26 February
2004 to the Council on EU policy towards
– having regard to the Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States,
of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part, which entered into force in
1999,
- having regard to the Presidency Statement
of 24 July 2006 on recent developments in Georgia - Abkhazia and
– having regard to the conclusions of the
General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting of 16-17 October 2006,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of
Procedure,
A. whereas the situation in South Ossetia is
increasingly deteriorating with incidents, shootouts and clashes between the
Georgian and the Ossetian forces and police units in the recent months which
are causing deaths and injury, (GUE)
B. whereas the government and the parliament of
Georgia have questioned the existing format of the negotiating process, the
composition of the peace-keeping forces and the mechanisms of the peace-keeping
operations stemming from the cease-fire agreement of 1992, (Greens)
C. whereas the two sides have put forward two separate
peace plans which contain many common elements that could and should be used as
a basis for fruitful negotiations; whereas the Joint Control Commission (JCC)
has been incapable lately to produce significant results, (Greens)
D. whereas the
E. having regard to the decision of the South Ossetian leadership
to hold a referendum on self-determination together with the presidential
elections on 12 November 2006, (Greens)
F. whereas
G. deeply worried at the diplomatic crisis between
H. whereas on the 2nd October Russian
authorities halted all land, air and sea links with Georgia, including mail
communication, although the four officers were released to the OSCE and are now
back in Russia, (EPP)
I. whereas a number of seriously discriminative
measures have been taken by Russian authorities against Georgians living in
Russia because of their ethnic belonging including the deportation of nearly
700 Georgians from Moscow to Tbilisi as well as alleged harassment of Georgian
worshipers, businessmen and schoolchildren under the pretext of a clamp-down on
organised crime and illegal immigrants, (EPP)
L. whereas the Russian Federation has put in the
beginning of this year a ban on the import of agricultural products (wine,
fruit and vegetables) from Moldova and Georgia, which is considerably harming
the economic development of both countries,
(first part D PSE)
M. whereas the unilateral movements for independence
in South Ossetia and Abkhazia are not being supported by any international
organisation and continuing efforts are being made under the auspices of the
OSCE and the United Nations to restore the sovereignty and the territorial
integrity of Georgia, (PSE)
P. whereas the EU must
increase its support for the ongoing efforts to help resolve the conflicts in
Georgia and the South Caucasus region, in cooperation with the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other actors, (Greens)
1. Reiterates its call
for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and its commitment to support the
peace process and calls on all parties to act responsibly refraining from
unilateral steps and inflammatory and aggressive statements that contribute to escalating
the situation and may degenerate into violence; (Greens and ALDE)
2. Reaffirms its full
support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
3. Strongly denounces the attempts by movements in
the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and
4.
Calls on the government of the
5. condemns the fact that South Ossetia will
hold a referendum on independence scheduled for the 12th of November 2006, and
reminds the parties that a similar referendum on independence in 1992 was not
internationally recognized; (EPP)
6. Notes that the stagnated peace process needs
to be re-launched and calls for an enhanced and combined effort from the
European Union and the OSCE to bringing the parties back to the negotiation
table, based on the progress made in the initial stages of the two peace plans;
(ALDE)
7. Calls, in this respect, on both parties to
sign the joint document on refraining from using force and on security
guarantees and to engage in constructive negotiations in order to overcome the
present stalemate; regrets that the meeting of the Joint Control Committee
which took place in Vladikavkaz on October 12-13 October 2006 did not yield any
results; (Greens and GUE)
8. Takes the view that full demilitarisation of
and a reduction in the number of weapons in the conflict area, with the
exception of the OSCE joint peacekeeping force, is a fundamental element of
conflict prevention and a first essential step towards further
confidence-building measures; therefore calls on Russia to refrain from holding
military exercises and displaying any kind of military force in close proximity
to Georgia’s territorial waters;
9. Stresses that neutral, effective and
impartial peace-keeping operations are essential for resolving territorial
conflicts in Georgia; looks with interest, in this regard, to new proposals as
regards the present tripartite Joint Peace-Keeping Force deployed in the
conflict area around the ceasefire line between Georgia and South Ossetia;
points out that a new force should contain an
element of police support, to combat crime and lawlessness; underlines that EU should be prepared, if
necessary, to commit troops to a new peacekeeping force; (Greens + ALDE)
10.
Considers it unfair and
discriminatory that South Ossetian citizens holding Russian passport are
benefiting from the possibility to travel to the EU more easily than Georgians
which contribute to increased tensions over the South Ossetian Region and to
disincentivate a settlement of the dispute; (EPP)
10a. Calls on the
Russian state authorities to halt immediately all acts of repression and harassment
carried out and all accusations made by representatives of official state
institutions against ethnic Georgians living in Russia;
11. Calls on
the Russian authorities to lift all measures recently adopted against
11a. Calls on
12. Calls on the
Council to keep on making every effort so as to defuse the tension and rebuild confidence between Georgia and the
Russian Federation and prevent the present diplomatic crisis from further escalating;
urges the Council and the Commission to find ways so as to help Georgia to
overcome and counterbalance the economic and social repercussions of the
measures adopted in Moscow; (Greens)
13. Calls on the Council and the Commission to
include the question of frozen conflicts and its solution in the agenda of the
next EU-Russia summits; (Greens, GUE and ALDE)
14. Welcomes the
conclusion and the signing of the ENP Action Plan for Georgia; expects that its
implementation will give a further boost to the political and reform process of
this country, welcomes the statements from the CFSP High Representative Javier
Solana who recently said that the EU intends to become more actively engaged in
the resolution of conflicts in Georgia and calls on the Council to provide the
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus with all the necessary means
and resources to make this action more effective and visible; (ALDE)
15. Instructs its
President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the Secretary
General of the United Nations and the OSCE, to the President and the Parliament
of Georgia, to the President and the Parliament of the
25
October 2006.
(www.europa.eu)