obžaluje, da posvetovanja o človekovih pravicah med EU in Rusijo niso dala rezultatov, in poziva, naj se Parlament vključi v takšen proces; spodbuja prizadevanja Sveta in Komisije, da bi vzpostavila razmere, v katerih bi posvetovanja potekala izmenično v Rusiji in Evropski uniji, v njih pa bi sodelovala tudi druga ruska ministrstva in ne le ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve ter bi ruska delegacija sodelovala na srečanjih ruskih in evropskih parlamentarnih organov ali nevladnih organizacij, katerih organizacija bi sovpadala s posvetovanji; obžaluje, da Evropski uniji ni uspelo doprinesti k političnim spremembam v Rusiji, zlasti kar zadeva občutljiva vprašanja, kot so razmere v Čečeniji in drugih kavkaških republikah, nekaznovanje in neodvisnost sodstva, ravnanje z zagovorniki človekovih pravic in političnimi zaporniki, vključno z Mihailom Hodarkovskim, neodvisnost medijev in svobodo izražanja, ravnanje z narodnostnimi in verskimi manjšinami, spoštovanje načel pravne države in varstvo človekovih pravic v oboroženih silah, diskriminacijo zaradi spolne usmerjenosti, pa tudi druga vprašanja; meni, da bi bilo treba dolgotrajno razpravo o Čečeniji razširiti na zaskrbljujoče razmere v Ingušetiji in Dagestanu; poziva ruske oblasti, da zaščitijo narodne manjšine v Republiki Mari-El ter zagotovijo spoštovanje človekovih pravic in pravic manjšin v skladu z ustavo Republike Mari-El in evropskimi standardi; obžaluje nadaljnje preganjanje novinarjev, zagovornikov človekovih pravic, političnih zapornikov in nevladnih organizacij, na primer nedavno nadlegovanje časnika Novaja gazeta in Fundacije za podporo strpnosti Nižni Novgorod; je zaskrbljen, da se je leta 2007 nova ruska zakonodaja na področju nevladnih organizacij, po začetku veljavnosti leta 2006, izkazala za naklonjeno samovoljnemu in selektivnemu izvajanju ter se je uporabljala za oviranje, omejevanje in kaznovanje zakonitih dejavnosti nevladnih organizacij, s čimer je prispevala k večanju negotovosti in ranljivosti teh organizacij; je še bolj zaskrbljen ob poročilu Amnesty International iz decembra 2007, ki navaja, da tožilstvo še vedno ne spoštuje pravice Mihaila Hodorkovskega in njegovega družabnika Platona Lebedeva do poštenega sojenja v skladu z mednarodnimi standardi, in stiske ob zavrnitvi zagotovitve življenjsko pomembnega zdravljenja Vasilija Aleksanjana, bivšega podpredsednika družbe Jukos, čeprav sta k temu večkrat pozvala Evropsko sodišče za človekove pravice in predsednik parlamentarne skupščine Sveta Evrope; poziva Rusijo, naj sprejme nadaljnje ukrepe za zaščito svobode izražanja in večjo varnost novinarjev in zagovornikov človekovih pravic; v zvezi s tem meni, da bi morala Evropska unija prednostno obravnavati rusko sodelovanje z mehanizmi za človekove pravice OVSE, Sveta Evrope in Združenih narodov ter njeno ratifikacijo relevantnih konvencij o človekovih pravicah, zlasti ratifikacijo Protokola št. 14 k EKČP, ki spreminja nadzorni sistem konvencije; obžaluje, da Rusija ni pripravljena povabiti mednarodnih opazovalcev volitev v zadostnem številu in dovolj časa vnaprej, da bi jim omogočila ustrezno spremljanje volitev v skladu s standardi OVSE, s čimer uradu OVSE za demokratične institucije in človekove pravice (ODIHR) onemogoča, da v skladu s svojim mandatom izvede načrtovano misijo za spremljanje volitev, in je zato prisiljen dvomiti v demokratičnost parlamentarnih volitev leta 2007 in predsedniških volitev leta 2008; poziva Svet in Komisijo, naj vprašanja človekovih pravic, vključno s posameznimi primeri, izpostavita v pogovorih z ruskimi oblastmi na najvišji ravni in v novem sporazumu o partnerstvu in sodelovanju z Rusijo; poziva Komisijo, naj poleg klavzule o človekovih pravicah določi jasnejše obveznosti in oblikuje učinkovitejše nadzorne mehanizme, da bi dosegli dejansko izboljšanje razmer na področju človekovih pravic;
Regrets the lack of results from the European Union-Russia consultations on human rights and calls for Parliament to be involved in such a process; encourages the efforts made by the Council and the Commission to bring about a state of affairs whereby the consultations take place alternately in Russia and in the European Union, whereby Russian Ministries other than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also participate in the consultations, and whereby the Russian delegation participates in the meetings of Russian and European parliamentary bodies or NGOs organised in conjunction with the consultations; regrets that the European Union has not succeeded in bringing about policy change in Russia, particularly with regard to sensitive issues such as the situation in Chechnya and other Caucasian Republics, impunity and the independence of the judiciary, the treatment of human rights defenders and political prisoners including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the independence of the media and freedom of expression, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, respect for the rule of law and human rights protection in the armed forces, discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as other issues; believes that the long-standing debate on Chechnya should be extended to cover the worrying situations in Ingushetia and Dagestan; calls on the Russian authorities to protect the national minorities in the Republic of Mari-El and to ensure respect for human and minority rights in accordance with the Constitution of Mari-El and European standards; deplores the continued persecution of journalists, human rights defenders, political prisoners and NGOs, for instance the recent harassment of Novaya Gazeta and of the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance; is concerned that in 2007, following its entry into force in 2006, the new Russian legislation on NGOs has proved to be open to arbitrary and selective implementation and has been used to impede, restrict and punish legitimate NGO activities, thereby contributing to growing insecurity and vulnerability of NGOs; expresses further concern, in line with the Amnesty International Report of December 2007, as to the ongoing failure of the Office of the Prosecutor to respect the right of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev to a fair trial in accordance with international standards, and distress at the refusal to provide life-saving medical treatment for Vasily Alexanyan, ex-Vice-President of Yukos, despite being repeatedly called upon by the European Court of Human Rights and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to provide the same; urges Russia to take further measures to protect freedom of expression and the security of journalists and human rights defenders; considers, in this regard, that Russian cooperation with OSCE, Council of Europe and United Nations human rights mechanisms as well as the ratification of all relevant human rights conventions should be regarded as a priority by the European Union, most notably the ratification of Protocol No 14 to the ECHR, amending the control system of the Convention; deplores Russia's unwillingness to invite international election observers in suitable numbers and sufficiently in advance to allow them to properly supervise the elections in accordance with OSCE standards, thereby making it impossible for the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to undertake its planned election observation mission in accordance with its mandate, and is therefore compelled to question the democratic credentials of the 2007 parliamentary and the 2008 presidential elections; urges the Council and the Commission to raise human rights issues, including individual cases, with Russian authorities at the highest level and in the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Russia; urges the Commission to lay down clearer obligations and establish more efficient monitoring mechanisms, in addition to the human rights clause, in order to achieve a real improvement in the human rights situation;