European Parliament resolution on the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and its historical meaning for Europe
Date: 2006-10-26
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Hungary, commemoration, democracy, political violence

C 313 E/426

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.12.2006

Thursday 26 October 2006

1.

2.

Approves the Commission proposal;

Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if

3.
substantially;

it intends to amend the Commission proposal

4.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

P6_TA(2006)0454

Commemoration of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising

European Parliament resolution on the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and its
historical meaning for Europe

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the European Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, the rule of law and
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms — principles that are common to all Member
States,

B. whereas the countries of Central and Eastern Europe were deprived of their sovereignty and freedom by

the Yalta division of post-World War II Europe for more than four decades,

C. whereas the Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe were not based on the consent or will
of the people, and were maintained by Soviet military occupation and through the collaboration of
Communist parties,

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

recalling the courage and determination of Hungarians who took to the streets in protest against the
dictatorial rule of the Communist Party on 23 October 1956,

expressing its esteem for the perseverance of the Hungarians who continued their fight for freedom,
national independence and civil rights in spite of the lack of any military help from the West and the
intervention and overwhelming military preponderance of the Soviet Union,

saluting the human and political courage of Imre Nagy, the reform-communist prime minister of Hun-
gary, who rightly understood the elementary expression of the will of the people and agreed to be the
political leader of the popular revolution for freedom and democracy, eventually sacrificing his life and
becoming a martyr for liberty as he was executed in 1958 for not bowing to pressure to publicly
renounce the Revolution,

saluting the victims of the Revolution — 2 170 killed in the fighting — and those of the cruel retalia-
tion — 228 executed between 1956 and 1961, 20 000 taken into custody and imprisoned between
1956 and 1958, and thousands discriminated against for decades after the Revolution by the returning
Communist leadership,

expressing its gratitude for the solidarity shown by people in many countries of the West as they
welcomed 194 000 Hungarian refugees in 1956 and 1957,

recognising the essential value of solidarity between nations in general and, in particular, between the
various nations of Central and Eastern Europe who have fought for their freedom — the Hungarians,
Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Germans, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians,

20.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 313 E/427

Thursday 26 October 2006

J.

K.

L.

recognising the historical and political link between the Hungarian Revolution in October 1956 and
various other forms of resistance and resistance movements, such as the mass demonstrations in East
Germany in June 1953, the Poznan demonstrations in Poland in June 1956, the Prague Spring of
1968, the birth of the Solidarity Movement in Poland in 1980 and democracy movements in the
former USSR, notably those of the Baltic peoples,

recognising that the Hungarian Revolution was a historic attempt at the reunification of a divided
Europe, and as such remains a cornerstone of our common European historical heritage,

recognising how the Hungarian Revolution contributed to the strengthening of cohesion in the demo-
cratic world and to the eventual founding of the European Communities in 1957, and was the ante-
cedent to the democratic political changes that took place in 1989-1990 in Central and Eastern Europe,
allowing the peaceful reunification of Europe through the European integration process,

Recognises the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 as one of the 20th century's emblematic manifestations

1.
of the pursuit of liberty and democracy that defied Communism in the Soviet bloc;

Salutes the brave men and women of Hungary who, by their self-sacrifice, lit a beacon of hope for

2.
other nations under the stranglehold of Communist rule;

Underlines the fact that the democratic community must unequivocally reject the repressive and unde-
3.
mocratic Communist ideology and uphold the principles of liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule
of law, and take a clear stand whenever they are violated;

4.

Calls on all democratic countries to clearly condemn the crimes committed by all totalitarian regimes;

Calls for the establishment of a European programme to strengthen cooperation between research and

5.
documentation centres in Member States studying the crimes of totalitarian regimes;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments

6.
and parliaments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2006)0455

Moldova/Transnistria

European Parliament resolution on Moldova (Transnistria)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Moldova and the situation in Transnistria,

and in particular that of 16 March 2006 (1),

— having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Moldova and the European

Union, which entered into force on 1 July 1998,

— having regard to the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Moldova, adopted on 22 February
2005, which sets the direction for strategic cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the
European Union,

— having regard to the statements of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) at

the 1999 Summit in Istanbul and the 2002 Ministerial Council meeting in Oporto,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0099.