Partenariat stratégique entre la Russie et l'Allemagne nécessite des valeurs communes
31 octobre 2007
Strategic partnership between the EU and Russia needs common values
At the conclusion of a three-day conference of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament on "EU-Russia relations" Daniel Cohn-Bendit, President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, said today at a press conference in Moscow:
"After three days of intensive discussion with Russian opposition politicians, NGOs and scientists, the Greens have gained a deeper insight into current Russian affairs and the state of the relations between the EU and Russia.
We question the nature of the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia today because it should be founded on an approach where partners define common polices reflecting common values. Today the strategic partnership in its current form serves more to legitimise the Russian partner in its way of exerting power.
We regret that the official government side in Russia refused to accept Our invitation to participate in the conference, so that we could hear their views, as they didn't want to sit at the same table with the opposition forces. We will have this dialogue with the official Russian authorities in the near future.
We learnt that it is of utmost importance to try to reach a common understanding of conflicts in the world. The best example is the question of Kosovo where the Russians - government and opposition alike - do not comprehend our position and for us it is also difficult to really understand the Russian position. A better mutual understanding will be crucial for the resolution of Kosovo's final status and all other conflicts in the world.
We should take seriously the approach of Russian politicians who argue everything on the grounds of strict reciprocity with the West. The clearest example of this approach is Putin's proposal to establish an institute for human rights in the European Union. This is acceptable to us. We should define the tasks for such an institute - minority rights, freedom of press, inspections of prisons etc- and then mirror this institution with an equivalent institute in Moscow, which will do the same.
During our debate it was particularly worrying for us to see the difficulties that the Russian opposition have in joining forces. The split between opposition parties weakens them as they face the gigantic task of leading this country away from the current authoritarian regime in the direction of true democratisation, a true separation of powers and a true freedom of the press and media."
At the conclusion of a three-day conference of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament on "EU-Russia relations" Daniel Cohn-Bendit, President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, said today at a press conference in Moscow:
"After three days of intensive discussion with Russian opposition politicians, NGOs and scientists, the Greens have gained a deeper insight into current Russian affairs and the state of the relations between the EU and Russia.
We question the nature of the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia today because it should be founded on an approach where partners define common polices reflecting common values. Today the strategic partnership in its current form serves more to legitimise the Russian partner in its way of exerting power.
We regret that the official government side in Russia refused to accept Our invitation to participate in the conference, so that we could hear their views, as they didn't want to sit at the same table with the opposition forces. We will have this dialogue with the official Russian authorities in the near future.
We learnt that it is of utmost importance to try to reach a common understanding of conflicts in the world. The best example is the question of Kosovo where the Russians - government and opposition alike - do not comprehend our position and for us it is also difficult to really understand the Russian position. A better mutual understanding will be crucial for the resolution of Kosovo's final status and all other conflicts in the world.
We should take seriously the approach of Russian politicians who argue everything on the grounds of strict reciprocity with the West. The clearest example of this approach is Putin's proposal to establish an institute for human rights in the European Union. This is acceptable to us. We should define the tasks for such an institute - minority rights, freedom of press, inspections of prisons etc- and then mirror this institution with an equivalent institute in Moscow, which will do the same.
During our debate it was particularly worrying for us to see the difficulties that the Russian opposition have in joining forces. The split between opposition parties weakens them as they face the gigantic task of leading this country away from the current authoritarian regime in the direction of true democratisation, a true separation of powers and a true freedom of the press and media."