35 Amendments of Nicolas BAY related to 2015/2036(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Heading 1
Heading 1
on the strategic military situation in the Black Sea Basin following the illegal annexreunification of Crimea bywith Russia
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- in the light of the United Nations charter,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10
Citation 10
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Black Sea Basin is one of the world’s most strategic regions, of key importance both to the EU and its Member States and to Russia, in particular with regard to ensuring their security and defence, and to the EU Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership; whereas all existing protracted conflicts in the Republic of Moldova (Transnistria), Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia) and between Armenia and Azerbaijan (Nagorno- Karabakh) are located in the Black Sea Basin;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the European Council has strongly condemned the Russian Federation’s annexaincorporation of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation, while the Crimean people, through the decisions of the institutions of Crimea and Sevastopol and will not recognise itits independent Republic, elected democratically and in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, confirmed by the referendum of 16 March 2014, in accordance with the United Nations charter, exercised their right of self- determination; whereas restrictions on trade between the EU and Crimea have been imposed as a consequence;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the Ukrainian Government has in de facto terms acknowledged this incorporation by not breaking off its diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, by voluntarily evacuating its armed forces from this territory, by establishing a migratory and customs border with Crimea and by maintaining its economic and financial relations, including in the defence sector, with Russia;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas NATO has condemned the Russian Federation’s military escalation in Crimea, its illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and its continued and deliberate destabilisation ofis the cause of the military escalation with the Russian Federation in Crimea, through destabilisation operations led by the United States of America, in particular through its private military companies, in eastern Ukraine in violation of international law;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the military balance in the Black Sea Basin has shifted following the illegal annexation of Crimea, with Russia now unlawfully controllingNATO's Sea Breeze manoeuvres in the territory of Crimea from 2004 to 2010, which were perceived by the local population, the local Crimean institutions and Russia as real provocations; whereas Russia now provides security for the hundreds of kilometres of the Crimean coastline and the adjacent waters facing NATO and EU maritime borders; whereas Russia has fuelled aggressive actions on Ukrainian territory;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas prior to the illegal annexationreunification of Crimea with Russia, Russian land and air forces in Crimea were minimalsubstantial (as many as 25 000 troops) and concerned mainly with the defence of Sevastopol – main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet – and two adjacent naval bases; whereas through a military build-up in Crimea and in the Black Sea Basin following the annexation, Russia has moved to create an of defensive joint striking force comprising the navy and land and air forces;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas Russia has acceleratplanned the expansion and modernisation of theits Black Sea Fleet following the annexreunification; whereas the Black Sea Fleet modernisation plan is one of the most ambitious parts of the Russian State Arms Procurement programme for 2011-2020; whereas in December 2014 the Russian Government approved a new military doctrine which considers NATO as a main security threat to Russia; whereas this document was signed following the decisions of the NATO summits in Chicago and Newport, where it was resolved, in particular, to create an anti-missile barrier covering the whole of the European part of Russia and following resolutions S 2277 and H.S. 758, adopted in July and December 2014 by the United States Congress, which depict Russia as an ‘aggressor country’ which had invaded Ukraine, and which call for preparation for a war against Russia, proposing the militarisation of Eastern Europe and of the Baltic States;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas Turkey is a NATO ally, a naval power, an active regional foreign policy player and a key partner for the EU, not least in matters concerning energy and border security; whereas it has illegally occupied northern Cyprus since 1974; whereas Turkey’'s strategic locsituation is also of high relevance to the other major thenables the countries of NATO and the EU to overlook this serious breach of international order relat facing both NATO and the EU, the self-proclaimed Daesh (Islamic State)ing to a Member State of the European Union;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the EU, NATO and the US have condemned the ‘treaty’ signed in November 2014 between Russia and the sReparatist authorities inublic of Abkhazia and have reaffirmed their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas since the occupation by Russian forces,for 23 years Crimea hwas been, under Ukrainian sovereignty, the scene of human rights abuses, affecting in particular Crimean Tatarin particular in the field of linguistic rights, of which both the Tatars and the 101 ethnic groups comprising the people of Crimea were victims;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Firmly supports the non-recognition of Russia’s annexfree determination of the people of Crimea; reiterates its commitment to the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and to the non- violability of borders; fully supportsdoes not accept the European Council’s conclusions that the EU will not recognise the illegal annexation offact that Crimea and Sevastopol belong to the Russian Federation;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes with concern that the annexation of Crimea has precipitated a significant change in the strategic landscape of the Black Sea Basin and the adjacent arethat the new status of Crimea has seen the strategic landscape of the Black Sea Basin and the adjacent area find a position of balance between Russian power, Turkish power and the presence of the United States of America; warns that by occupycontrolling the entire peninsula, Russia has gained a very important launching pad facing both west (Transnistria and the Danube Mouths), the Balkans and south (the Eastern Mediterranean), where it has establishehad a permanent naval task force, and that the illegal annexation of since 1783 and the creation of the Russian Black Sea Fleet; notes that Crimea offers Russia a ‘southern Kaliningrad’, another outpost directly bordering on NATO, this time at sea. Notes that this new situation is the result of NATO's offensive policy in the region, inaugurated by the illegal bombings against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that the change in the strategic landscape, and the evolving military situation in the Black Sea Basin, are indicative of broader, systemic challenges to European security; believes that the EU and the Member States must have a security response to these challenges, engage in negotiation with Russia and the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation on the subject of a new European security architecture, as was proposed by the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in 2008, and engage in negotiation in relation to a free trade area between the Eurasian Economic Union, Ukraine and the European Union, as Vladimir Putin proposed in his article in Izvestia of 3 October 2011, a plan which the Commission rejected out of hand;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is deeply concerned aboutNotes the current defensive and offensive military build-up of Russia in the Black Sea, and the planned expansion and modernisation of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, involving the addition of six new modern diesel submarines of the Rostov-on-Don type and six new frigates of the Admiral Grigorovich type; notes that the positioning of ofdefensive air force assets, and the upgrading of Crimean military infrastructures, will enhance Russia’s offensive military posture and its ability to project power beyond its territory;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes with concern that Russia has considerably bolstered its air and naval defences in the Black Sea Basin, deploying new naval defence (anti-ship) missiles (with a range of 600 km, able to reach the Bosphorus) and ensuring that Russian fighter planes control about three quarters of the Black Sea Basin airspace (by practically tripling the number of airports in Crimea); notes, in this regard, that Russia has bolstered its capabilities in both strategic and tactical terms: strategically, long-range bombers, capable of carrying cruise missiles, and reconnaissance aviation operating close to the western shores of the Black Sea, can penetrate deep into Central Europe; tactically, two naval infantry brigades – potentially supported by Mistral-type helicopter carriers – pose a significant potential landing threat;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that potential Russian deployment of dual-capable weapon systems in Crimea place in doubt Russia’s good intentions when it comes to achieving progress on the multilateral nuclear disarmament agenda in the forthcoming Non-Proliferation Treaty review, undermining the efforts already made in that direction, this policy being merely the result of the United States of America's exit from the ABM Treaty and the deployment in Europe of NATO's anti-missile shield, directed against Russia;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regards the recent close overflights by Russian fighter aircrafts of NATO warships and exploration platforms in the Black Sea as a clear indication of a more aggressive Russian posture in the Black Sea Basin and warns of a heightened risk of escalation;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is deeply concerned by the extremely serious situation in eastern Ukraine – where war is leading to the destabilisation of Ukraine and, caused by a failure to comply with the agreements of 21 February 2014 signed by the heads of the then opposition parties, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland, by the bregion as a whole – including the apparent move to establish a land corridor linking Russian territory with Crimea through separatist-controlled territory alongach by the Rada of Articles 108, 110, 112 and 126 of the Ukrainian Constitution in its decisions of 22 February 2015 (overthrow of President Yanokovich) and of 24 February 2015 (overthrow of the judges of the Constitutional Court), and by the refusal, in March and April 2014, by the Kiev Government, to negotiate a suitable status for the political, economic, social and cultural features of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, led to the wdestern shore of the Azov Sea (Mariupol)abilisation of the country and the entire region;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. CondemnEndorses the fact that Russia is providing direct and indirect support to the separatist actions, thereby facilitating the continuation of war;local populations, in particular through the acceptance of 1 200 000 refugees in its concerned by the reports of war crimes committed in the region controlled by Russia-backed separatists; urges Russiterritory and the despatch of 14 humanitarian convoys to the conflict zone; urges Russia and the United States of America to use itstheir influence to halt the hostilities;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Condemns the direct support provided by the Ukrainian Government and by the regional authorities of Dnipropetrovsk to the armed militias, consisting of openly nationalistic and extremist militants called the special ‘Donbas’ battalion, the special ‘Aidar’ battalion, the special ‘Sytch’ battalion, the special ‘Azov’ regiment, the special ‘Dnipro-1’ battalion, the special ‘Dnipro-2’ battalion, the ‘Pravy Sektor’ Ukrainian volunteer corps and 40 other bands of this type; condemns the repeated breaches of human rights and the war crimes committed by these armed bands against the civilians of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and in particular those highlighted in Report EUR 50/040/2014 of 8 September 2014 by the NGO Amnesty International; demands that the Ukrainian Government dissolve and disarm these armed bands which have no place in a democracy, where only the police and armed forces legally established and controlled by the civil power can legally bear arms, make arrests and undertake police operations;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Urges the Commission and the IMF to block the financial aid given to Ukraine, since it is being used to finance the war conducted by this country against the populations of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, a war which is falsely called an ‘antiterrorist operation’;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that the relationship with Russia, being a major actor in the international system, should be cooperative rather than conflictual in the long run; is of the view, however, that in the short and medium term, owing to a lack of trust following Russia’s latest actions, any resumption of cooperation should continue to rely, firstly, on the strong strategic reassurance offered by NATO to its eastern members and, secondly, on the fact that there can be no political solution based on accepting the illegal annexation of Crimeaany resumption of cooperation should continue to rely on NATO's withdrawal from eastern Europe;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses hope that the Minsk ceasefire agreement reached on 12 February 2015 will hold and thereby provide the time for a negotiated political solution with the de facto authorities of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the political and economic context given by the Minsk agreements;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Believes that, in the event that Russia does not honour the Minsk ceasefire agreement, and continues the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea, the sanction regime should be continued and even strengthen Russia will honour this agreement, as shown by the OSCE observer mission's reports, which noted the withdrawal of the heavy weapons by the insurgents, together with a general cessation of hostilities, except for a few very localised incidents; the sanction regime must consequently be lifted;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the implementation of the EU energy policy aimed at promotingcontribution of Russia to energy security for all Member States; urges the Member States to take the steps needed to ensure the security of oil and gas exploitation and transportation activities in the Black Sea region, particularly by negotiating the restart of the ‘South Stream’ project;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Is concerned that the benefits of oil and gas exploitation and transportation in the Black Sea are increasingly dependent on the level of militarisation triggered by the illegal annexAmerican provocation ofs in Crimea by Russia and the subsequentagainst Russia, leading to a build-up of its capabilities in the area;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Ccalls on Russia to continue to respect the rights of the local population in Crimea, especially the native Crimean Tatars, thousands of whom have left their homeland for fear of persecution and have sought refuge iGreeks, Armenians and Germans, of whom the Russian Government has recognised, by Presidential Decree No 268 of 21 April 2014, the status of unjustly oppressed people and has consequently taken measures for their total rehabilitation, together with compensation measures which the Ukrainian Government had until now never implemented; is very content that the Crimean Tatars have had their language recognised as an official language of the Crimean Republic by Article 10 of the Constitution of ther regions in Ukraine Crimean Republic of 11 April 2014, which gives it a status of official language in this territory pursuant to Article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Ukrainian Government to use all means at its disposal to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed on its territory, specifically the massacres committed by the pro-government militants in Odessa on 2 May 2014, and by the members of the special ‘Azov’ Battalion in Mariupol on 9 May 2014;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls on the Ukrainian Government to cease the attacks on freedom of expression, and the pressures against the independent press, particularly against the newspaper ‘Vesti’, which was the subject of two vexatious searches in May and September 2014, and two attacks on its premises in July 2014; calls for the lifting of the administrative sanctions adopted by the Ukrainian State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting against the ‘Inter’ and ‘112’ television channels and against the ‘Vesti’ radio channel, together with the prohibition of broadcasting of the television channel of the CIS, ‘Mir’, and of 15 Russian television channels in Ukrainian territory in July 2014;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses the critical importance ofat coordinating with NATO and the United States is counter- productive as the Black Sea Basin is a key component of Euro-Atlantic security; welcomes the commitment of NATO to support regional efforts of Black Sea littoral states aimed at ensuring security and stabilpean and Eurasian security; calls on the OSCE to enlarge the scope of its efforts related to Black Sea security;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines that NATO should preserve it’s general naval and air superiority in the Black Sea Basin and maintain its capacity to monitor the areby its nature exacerbates tensions with Russia;