EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Partnership
and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, which entered
into force in 1999,
– having regard to its previous
reports and resolutions on relations with the countries of the region, notably
its report of 26 February 2004 on EU policy towards the
– having regard to the emerging
Wider Europe - Neighbourhood policy of the European Union, in which the region
is included, and the stated long-term objective of the countries in the region
to play a full part in European integration and cooperation,
– having regard to Rule 103(4) of
its Rules of Procedure,
A. welcoming the on-going political
and economic reforms, the measures to establish solid and efficient democratic
institutions, and the efforts made by the government to tackle large-scale
corruption, thereby creating a peaceful and prosperous Georgia that can
contribute to stability in the region and the rest of Europe,
B. deploring the recent outbreaks of
violence in the region of
C. whereas the lack of progress in
conflict resolution in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is an obstacle
to the development of
D. whereas the European Union must
increase its support for the on-going 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,
E. whereas the 'presidential
elections' which took place in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004 must be considered
illegitimate and unacceptable in the absence of an agreement on the final
status of Abkhazia, whereas these elections were based on an electorate of
115 000 persons and whereas more than 300 000 Georgians had previously
been disenfranchised through expulsion from their homes in the region,
F. deploring the recent statements
of the Russian authorities about the use of pre-emptive strikes in the South
Caucasus as part of Russia's security doctrine and stressing the indispensable
role Russia should play in the solution of the existing conflicts,
1. Expresses its full support for
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, and draws attention to
the need to arrive at a solution for the conflicts in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia through negotiations and confidence-building and exclusively by
peaceful means, respecting the right of the peoples of Georgia to determine
their own cultural, social, economic and political aims;
2. Insists that full
demilitarisation, with the exception of the OSCE's Joint Peace-Keeping Force,
of the South Ossetian conflict zone is a precondition for a lasting peaceful
solution of the conflict in this region; asks the Council to give its support
to a further enhancement of the effectiveness of the OSCE mission in this
region;
3. Rejects the 'presidential
elections' in Abkhazia as illegitimate and calls on the Commission and Council
to give their support to an intensification of the UN-led negotiation process
in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict;
4. Welcomes the start of the ESDP
Rule of Law Mission to Georgia; believes that the mission represents a step
forward in relations between the EU and Georgia and in the latter's progress
towards establishing deeper and more effective relations with the EU and
sharing the objectives of the European Neighbourhood Policy;
5. Calls on the European Union and
the Presidency-in-Office to provide the EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus with all necessary resources to make his action effective and visible
and to take further decisive action to secure the EU's policy goals in the
region, including a willingness to mediate in the conflicts;
6. Calls on the Council and
Commission to fully involve the Russian Federation in this process of securing
stability through political negotiations and calls on the Government of the
Russian Federation to refrain from any action which might endanger this
process; calls on the Council and Commission to include the issue of Georgia's
territorial integrity in the agenda for the dialogue with Russia within the
framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;
7. Urges the Russian Federation to
respect its commitments given at the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit on the reduction
and withdrawal of Russian military forces from Georgia and supports Georgia's
commitment as expressed by President Saakashvili at the UN that foreign troops
would not move in once the Russian military withdrew;
8. Calls for active EU involvement
in the development of a series of initiatives to break the deadlocks in the
region;
9. Welcomes, in this respect, the
agreement reached on a future meeting between the Prime Minister of Georgia,
Zurab Zhvania, and the separatist leader of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoiti;
calls on the Council to follow developments closely, making every effort to
facilitate dialogue and prevent the tense situation from escalating;
10. Instructs its President to
forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the
Presidency-in-Office, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe ,
the Secretary General of NATO, the President and Parliament of Georgia, and the
de-facto authorities in
14 October, 2004.
(www.europa.eu)