WRITTEN QUESTION E-1021/01 by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Council. Relations between India and Pakistan.
Date: 2001-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, India, Pakistan, cooperation agreement (EU), foreign policy

C 364 E/34

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

(2001/C 364 E/038)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1021/01

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Council

(3 April 2001)

Subject: Relations between India and Pakistan

The perverse decisions taken recently by the Afghan government have highlighted the permanently
strained relations between India and Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir. Since border disputes between the
two countries have remained unresolved for a number of decades and the neighbouring countries
China and Afghanistan have been involved either directly or indirectly, the conflict between India and
Pakistan has all the makings of a major international flashpoint.

As the European Union is seeking to play a more important role on the international political scene and
the two countries concerned are major trading partners, will the Council say:

1. What is the state today of EU relations with India and Pakistan, respectively?

2. What agreements have been concluded between the European Union and India and Pakistan,

respectively?

3. Has it ever raised the problem of Kashmir in its occasional discussions with these two countries?

4. Has it so far taken any initiatives to find a solution to the problem of Kashmir and, if not, does it

intend to do so?

Reply

(27 September 2001)

The Council shares the Honourable MEP(cid:146)s worries over the tensions between India and Pakistan.

Concerning the various aspects of the question, the Council would like to point out the following:

1. Concerning the state of the EU(cid:146)s relation with India, the Council invites the Honourable MEP to revert
to the reply given to Question H-0301/2001 by Gerard Collins MEP during Question Time in April
2001, a copy of which is annexed to the present answer.

2. As far as Pakistan is concerned, the Council has, in reaction to the military coup of 1999, suspended
the signature of the 3rd generation EC-Pakistan Co-operation Agreement and the regular political
dialogue meetings. The EC continues, however,
to provide development assistance to the most
vulnerable parts of the Pakistani population as well as humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees
stranded in Pakistan. Furthermore, the Council has conducted on an ad hoc basis two high-level
Troika missions to Pakistan, in November 1999 and November 2000 respectively, during which the
Troika has raised the EU(cid:146)s various preoccupations with the highest Pakistani authorities, including
Gen. Musharraf. On these occasions, the Troika pointed explicitly to the situation in Kashmir and
invited Pakistan to work for a reduction of tension, restraint over the Line of Control and a resumption
of dialogue with India.

3.

4.

Similar messages have been addressed to the Indian government on the occasion of the regular
political dialogue meetings which the EU holds with India,
including at the level of Heads of
Government, Foreign Ministers and Senior Officials.

EU-India relations are based on EC-India Co-operation agreement of 1993 which entered into force in
August 1994, on the Joint Political Statement signed on the same occasion, and on the Joint Summit
declaration of
June 2000. A bilateral agreement on Science and Technology is currently being
negotiated between India and the EC, and negotiations on a Customs Cooperation agreement are likely
to start soon. Exploratory talks on a EC-India Agreement on Maritime Transport will be held in on
19 May 2001 in New Delhi.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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5. As far as the Union(cid:146)s support for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue is concerned, the
Council would like to refer the Honourable MEP to its reply to Oral Question H-0375/2001 by Brian
Crowley MEP during Question Time in May 2001, a copy of which is annexed to the present answer.

(2001/C 364 E/039)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1041/01

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(3 April 2001)

Subject: Discovery of mass graves and disappearance of civilians in Chechnya

Humanitarian organisations such as Human Rights Watch have protested against the disappearance of
civilians and the existence of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies in Chechnya as a consequence of
the war started by Russia. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, `lvaro Gil-Robles,
recently visited Moscow and protested to the Russian authorities at the impunity enjoyed by Russian forces
in the face of these atrocities.

What action is the Council currently taking with a view to ensuring that these dreadful occurrences are
stopped and promoting a political solution to the war which recognises the national freedom of the
Chechen people?

Reply

(27 September 2001)

The EU has spoken out steadfastly against all attacks on human rights and dignity in Chechnya, whoever
may be the authors. While recognising the difficulties Russia faces in Chechnya,
the EU has been
particularly vocal in criticising the Russian government for its role in the Chechen republic of its country.
Time and again, the EU has raised this issue at the very highest level with the Russian authorities. It was
brought up in Stockholm on 23 March, at the meeting between the European Council and President Putin,
and again at
in Luxembourg on 10 April. The Presidency also
addressed the issue at the Summit with President Putin in Moscow on 17 May.

the EU-Russia Cooperation Council

Ever since the beginning of the conflict, the EU has given its full support to both the Council of Europe
(CoE) and the OSCE Assistance Group. The EU recognises that these institutions can play a certain role in
improving the human rights situation in Chechnya, including by helping to investigate all the cases of
missing persons that have been reported. The EU therefore welcomed the visit of Mr Gil-Robles to
Moscow. The EU welcomed the setting up of a joint working group between the offices of the Russian
Prosecutor General, the Chechen Prosecutor, and that of Mr Kalamanov, Russian Presidential Special
Representative for human rights in Chechnya, assisted by CoE experts.

The EU has consistently adopted an outspoken and principled stand, at no small cost to its immediate
relations with Russia. This position has been fully in line with the EU(cid:146)s general stance on human rights, as
laid out in the resolution presented to the 2000 session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (2000/
58), enumerating and condemning, clearly and comprehensively, the various violations of human rights
and humanitarian law committed in Chechnya. In the context of this year(cid:146)s session of the Commission, the
EU again strove to reach agreement with Russia on a joint Chairman(cid:146)s statement concerning the situation
in Chechnya. These efforts were not ultimately successful, however, and instead a resolution was passed
(2001/24). Nonetheless, concessions made by the Russian authorities in the course of negotiations show
that Russia is increasingly prepared to acknowledge its failings and to cooperate with the international
community.