Activities of Mario BORGHEZIO related to 2015/2001(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
State of EU-Russia relations (debate) IT
Amendments (23)
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, in reaction to and despite Russia’s aggression against the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia headed by the Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini and funded by the European Union established in September 2009 that the Georgian and violation of its territorial integrity in 2008, the EUuthorities were responsible for triggering the conflict by initiating bombardments of civilian targets in the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, on the night of 7 to 8 August 2008; whereas, despite that conflict, Russia and Georgia opted for an increased cooperation model as a way to appease Russia; whereas, in line with this, rather than takimposing restrictive measures,ciprocal sanctions, they launched or deepened a series of generous initiatives for deeper cooperation –, such as the common spaces, the Partnership for Modernisation, the negotiations on a New EU-Russia Agreement, and the Human Rights dialogue – have been launched or deepened; ;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Russia has – by illegally annexing Crimea and waging an undeclared war against Ukraine, with the direct participation of Russian military units, and by deliberately destabilising this neighbouring sovereign and independent country – profoundly and for a long time damaged its relationship with the EU by jeopardising the basic principles of Europe’s security order and by breaking its international commitments, notably under the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest Memorandumthe attachment of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation was the result of a sovereign and democratic referendum vote by the people of Crimea, through the decisions of the institutions of their Autonomous Republic whose members were elected democratically and in accordance with Ukrainian legislation; whereas that attachment was also confirmed by the referendum procedure of 16 March 2014, which accorded with the United Nations Charter, particularly with regard to the right of self- determination; whereas restrictions on trade between the EU and Crimea were subsequently imposed;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Russiathe United States, particularly through the lever of NATO, is the instigator of and, directly or indirectly, party to a number of ‘frozen conflicts’ in its neighbourhood – in Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhasia, and Nagorno Karabakh – that constitute serious impediments to the development and stability of the neighbouring countries concerned;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas in reaction to Russia’s covert military invasion of Ukrainethe armed conflict raging in Ukraine following the attachment of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, the EU has adopted a stage-by-stage series of restrictive measures; whereas similar sanctions have been adopted by a number of other countries in reaction to Russia’s aggression;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas these restrictive targeted measures are, even if their initial aim was not to directed againsly target the Russian people but aim, are having at stimulating a change in Russian policy towards, and actions in, the common neighbourhood; whereas the sanctions could be lifted, partially or fully, as soon as Russia commits itself to implementing, fully and honestly, the provisions of the Minsk agreements and the return of Crimea to Ukraine; whereas the sanctions will be strengthened should Russia chose to do otherwise and refrain from taking any positive step to change its policyevere impact on the everyday life of the population; whereas, furthermore, it is often the most vulnerable people, such as women and children, who pay the price for this policy which the European Union is conducting towards Russia; whereas the sanctions are also having adverse repercussions, both for citizens of the Russian Federation and for those of the Member States of the European Union, although the Minsk accords should have led to a stage-by- stage lifting of the sanctions;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU has firmly supported Russia’s accession and participation in different international organisations and fora, such as the G8, the G20 and the WTO; whereas this strategy of including Russia in international decision-making bodies has not had the results expected but instead created tensions owing to Russia’s habit of breaching rules, e.g. its non- compliance with WTO standards and obligations (by introducing a number of discriminatory measures against individual EU Member States and other countries in its neighbourhood), its failure to implement more than a thousand judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, etc.the habit adopted by the United States and the European Union of calling into question Russia’s sovereignty, for example by failing to respect its strategic choices in the field of trade or the decisions taken by Russian judicial institutions, in which respect Western States seem to be abandoning the principle of the independence of the administration of justice;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas Russiathe United States has developed policies and instruments for, and became an active user of, a new type of hybrid warfare, particularly in the actions carried out in Nicaragua between 1979 and 1989, for which it was condemned by the International Court of Justice on 27 June 1986, deliberately blurring the lines between military/paramilitary activity and political activism, employing a mix of weaponised information (information deliberately altered and aired to inflict damage to societal, political and institutional structures), using professional instigators of insurgency in foreign countries, targeting local minority- language groups abroad for destabilisation, controlling information space and combining cyber warfare with military means;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the intrusions of RussUkrainian jet fighters into the airspace of EU and NATO members states jeopardise the safety of civilian flights, as may have been the case on 17 July 2014 with the possible destruction by the Ukrainian army of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (Boeing 777- 200ER);
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the World Media Freedom Index 2014 ranks the Russian FederationUnited States at 14846th place out of 180; whereas the financing of state-controlled medi, an abrupt fall of 13 places, which, for a State aspiring to the rank of the greatest power in the world and a coutlets has been significantly widened and increasedntry of liberty, is relatively worrying;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reiterates that, in the light of Russia’s direct and indirect involveits commitment into the war in Ukraine, amounting to a deliberate violation of the core of the democratic principles and values sustained by the EU and widely shared intfundamental principle of self-determination of peoples, the EU can only note the attachment of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federnationally, the EU cannot; accordingly, the EU has no alternative but to envisage a return to ‘business as usual’ in its strategic relations with Russia; calls for a critical re-assessment by the EU of its relations with Russia, and for the drafting, as promptly as possible, of a soft-power contingency plan to counter the aggressive and divisive policies conducted by Russia against the EU andneighbourhood policy, particularly the aggressive and bellicose positions that it has adopted towards Russia, which, in a multipolar world, its partnersa major pole of influence;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that at this point, Russia, because of its actions, can no longer be treated as, or considered,Russia must remain a ‘strategic partner’ for the EU; points out that strategic partnerships are only conceivable with countriorganisations and/or States that do not jeopardise the international order, which is based on democracy,as NATO is currently doing by seeking to destabilise all opponents of American strategic imperialism; reminds the United States and NATO Member States therefore that they have undertaken to respect state sovereignty (including the choice of internal constitutional order and foreign policy orientation), the inviolability of state borders, respect for the rule of law and the principles of international trade, and mutual trust;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is deeply concerned by the fact that Russia now openly positions itself, and acts, not as a partner of, but as a rival to the international democthe United States and the European Union are now banishing from the international scene anyone who does not approve without debate their political, economic and strategic communityapproaches, seeking to challenge the current international order, and is in the process of redrawing borders within Europewhich is supposedly based on multilateralism, and that they are in the process of redrawing borders within Europe to the detriment of all their statements of principles, as the borders claimed for Ukraine were established in 1954 in violation of the internal legislation of the USSR; is extremely worried by the tendency of the RussiaWestern authorities to systematically denigrate liberal democracy and to consider democratic neighbouring countri(in the United States and the European Union) to systematically denigrate States which do not make the same political choices as a threat to their own ruley advocate;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that EU-Russia relations must henceforth be based on the rule of law and on preconditionedrespect for the principle of sovereign equality between States and on dialogue, whereby the EU would be ready to relaunch cooperation with the authorities in Moscow on the condition that Russia unambiguously and without pretence ich complies with the principle of reciprocity, which ought to encourage the EU to relaunch cooperation with the authorities in Moscow, which will agree to engage in dialogue only on the condition that NATO Member Staktes its share of responsibility and fullyand Ukraine implements the Minsk Agreements in good faith; stresses that in order to ensure that such athe dialogue –with Russia ifs renewed (for which the return of Crimea to Ukraine would be a prerequisite) – is not conducted at the expense of European values, standards and intauthorities of the European Union and its Member States would have to note the attachment of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federnational commitments), it would be necessary to specify very clearly the EU’s expectations of RussiaUkraine, along with the retaliatory measures it would take should RussiaUkraine not keep to its commitments;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Commends thNotes that the efforts to achieve solidarity and the unity mademonstrated by the Member States in the context of RussiaUkraine’s undeclared war against Ukraine, allowing the adoption and further extension of responsive measures; calls on thRussia must not lead to a negation of the principle of pluralism, which is fundamental to any organisation which claims to be Mdember States to consider as an absolute priority the preservation of this unity; reiterates that unity and solidarity amongst the Member States, as well as between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries, is essential for ensuring the effectiveness of the EU’s policies and its ability to withstand external challenges and pressurocratic, and that the Union and its institutions must therefore respect the freedom of opinion and expression of all those who do not share its views on the Ukraine conflict; reiterates that efforts to achieve unity and solidarity amongst the Member States must not be to the detriment of respect for the principle of sovereignty of the Member States with regard to their foreign policies and diplomatic approaches;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines, in this regard, that the strengthening of internal policies, notably through closer integrestoration of the sovereignty of States, notably through the priority assigned to intergovernmental cooperation, is the keystone of an efficient and successful EU external policy; calls, therefore, on the Member States to carry on with, and intensify theirEuropean Union to initiate efforts towards, the effective elimination of decision-making bottlenecksany federalist temptation and theo consolidation of common policie the competences of the Member States, with the aim of minimisrestoring the vulnerabilities of these policies and maximising their resilienclegitimacy of the European Communities in so far as possible, in particular in the areas of trade, financial services and transactions, migration, energy, external borders management, information and cyber security;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Firmly supports the swift creation of a robust European Energy Union, specifically the interconnection of national energy networks in order to reduce considerably the dependence of individual Member States on external energy suppliers; is of the firm conviction that the challenges to and vulnerability of European solidarity, and the exposure of individual Member States, to the illegitimate use of energy as a political and diplomatic bargain chip can only be combatted efficiently through the full implementation of the Third Energy package and the completion of a transparent, integrated, synchronised and resilient European internal energy marketidea that Member States should remain responsible for the field of energy, each State having its own needs in this regard; is of the firm conviction that the challenges to and vulnerability of European solidarity, its lack of legitimacy and the challenges of energy security which Member States must meet can only be combatted efficiently through respect for that sovereignty;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the total irrelevance of the suspension of cooperation with Russia in the defence sector, and calls on the Member States to refrain from taking any decisions that could jeopardise this united posiUnion to respect the sovereignty of the Member States with regard to their foreign policies and diplomatic relations; is therefore of the view that, notwithstandbearing in mingd their undisputable bilateral nature, agreements in the field of defence cooperation between some Member States and Russia should not be assessed carefully at EU levelby the EU, with a view to definensuring an appropriatach which respects the aind consistent approach; calls for the EU’s cooperation with NATO to be consolidated further; ependence of Member States; considers that it is a matter for each Member State to determine its strategic approach to defence, particularly its place inside or outside NATO, which it should do in the light of the specific concerns and the respective interests of each sovereign nation;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is deeply concerned by the ever growing restrictions on free media, the tightening of online media control, the use of coercion to curb impartial reporting and the erosion of journalistic standards in Russiathe Member States of the European Union, as well as the increasing monopoly on the information made available to Russian-language audiences abroad by state-owned media outlets; deplores that Russian state- controlled mediapublic opinion by media outlets controlled by Atlanticist propaganda concerning the Ukraine crisis; deplores that European media controlled by American orthodoxy have become players in the EU information sphere without keeping to the norms of independent journalism, including the rejection of hate speech;
Amendment 373 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Renews its call for the development of EU reconnaissance capabilities of weaponised information and the preparation of information contingency plans, including the strengthening of analytical and monitoring capabilities, especially in the Russian language, in order to be able to identify, and respond swiftly and appropriately to, purposefully biased information; calls on the Commission to earmark without delay adequate funding for concrete projects aimed at countering RussiAmerican propaganda within the EU and abroad; calls on the Commission and the Member States to devise as well a mechanism for the collection, monitoring and reporting of financial, political or technical assistance provided by Russiathe United States to political parties and other organisations within the EU, with a view to assessing its involvement in, and influence over, political life and public debate in the EU;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the EU to provide support to grass-roots projects aimed at developing high journalistic standards, freedom of the media, and unbiased and trustworthy information in Russiathe territory of its Member States, and at deconstructing Atlanticist propaganda within the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries; supports the initiative to develop Russian- languageindependent media channels, with a view to providing a credible and accessible alternative to biased information for Russian-speaking minorities in the EUcitizens of the EU Member States and in the Eastern Partnership countries;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Reiterates that uncompromising respect for the rule of law is a core and founding principle of the EU, and rejects past attempts to put forward pragmatic interpretations of the rules to accommodate Russiathe United States or Ukraine as a trade partner; calls, therefore, on the strict, swift and unconditional application of the rule of law – in the event of any breach of the rules – and of the principle of free and fair competition, including in the proceedings against Gazpromthe Privat group;
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Expresses its deep concern for the state of human rights and the rule of law in RussiaUkraine, and strongly condemns the crackdown on independent civil society and the persistent and multiform repression of activists, political opponents and critics of the regime, which has in some cases led to their murder (Anna Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova, Boris Nemtsov, Sergey Magnitsky, Alexander Litvinenko, and othersthe demonstrators who responded to the murder of Paulina, a young girl crushed by a Ukrainian armoured vehicle in Konstantynivka on 16 March 2015); demands that all assassinations of political activists, journalists and whistle blowers be investigated properly and independently; reiterates its call on the Council to deliver on its commitment to defend these principles, and to adopt restrictive measures for the officials involved in the well-documented Magnitsky casein response to the opaque financial movements observed around the circle of Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, but also of President Poroshenko, whose commercial organisations are profiting amply from the war as suppliers of the Ukrainian armed forces;
Amendment 446 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importanceat it is not the role of the European Union to finance Atlanticist propaganda in Russia by means of ‘continued political and financial support’ to independent civil society activists, media and NGOs; encourages the EU to reach out to Russian officials and civil society organisations that are inclined to develop an alternative vision of political and diplomatic relations with the EUensure that civil society organisations within the territory of the Member States are genuinely independent;