Debate: Direction of EU-Russia political relations
Date: TUESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2021
Speaker: Andrius Kubilius
Country: France
Language: EN

Our report is based on several clear principles. First of all, we want to have good relations with Russia, but it depends on Russia. With Russia, led by the authoritarian, kleptocratic and aggressive, both domestically and externally, Putin regime, it is impossible to have good relations. The Russia of today is the greatest threat to European security. Second principle. We are making a clear difference in our attitude towards the Kremlin regime and towards Russian people and Russian society who are the first victims of such a regime. We are very critical of the Kremlin regime and very positive and optimistic about the future of Russian society. Third principle. We are absolutely sure that, in the future, Russian people will live with a European-type democratic system of governance. If Ukrainians can do it, if Belarusians are striving for it, there is no reason why Russian people cannot go the same way. And we are absolutely sure that in the future the EU will have good and pragmatic relations with democratic Russia. The report gives several clear recommendations to EU institutions on EU future policy towards Russia. First of all, to concentrate our efforts on a very clear long-term goal and how to assist the Russian people to transform their country back to democratic, European-type development. This is the first time the European Parliament has given such a clear direction on the major goal of EU political relations with Russia. The report elaborates that the Strategy of EU political relations with Russia should have three major pillars: push back, contain and engage. It sounds in a very similar way like it was first declared by Vice-President Borrell, but in the report maybe we are bringing more precise and concrete content to those three pillars.  The first pillar, ‘Push back’. Push back against the Kremlin’s aggressive policies of today, both external and internal policies. Clear non-recognition policy of occupations and annexations in Crimea, South Ossetia, Donbas; more effective type sanctions which should be better coordinated with transatlantic partners, including sanctions against oligarchs; possibility of non-recognition of legitimacy of elections, if they are stolen; effective implementation of the Green Deal as an instrument to cut EU dependency on Russian gas, and so on. Second pillar. Containment pillar. Sets out how to contain Kremlin hybrid influences and how to make EU clean and safe of Russia hybrid threats and corruption practices inside of the EU. If we want to help democrats in Russia to transform their country and to get rid of Kremlin autocracy, we need to make ourselves clean of Kremlin influences. And the third pillar ‘Engage’. Engage not only with Kremlin, but engage strategically with civil society in Russia. Let us offer the Russian people a clear vision of what kind of relationship we’re going to establish between the EU and Democratic Russia – visa free, free-trade agreements, EU-Russia real modernisation partnerships, and so on and so forth. That is what we can do in the future. The Russian people need to know that transformation of their country will be beneficial to all of them who now are the first victims of their authoritarian and corrupt regime. What else can we offer? Let us offer Russian people also inspiration and an example to follow. Much more ambitious EU support to make a success of the Eastern Partnership region, especially Association Trio countries: Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Their success, built with more ambitious EU integration policy, could bring a real inspiration to the Russian people to follow a similar democratic way of development. And the last point. As you know this weekend there will be elections to the State Duma in Russia, so-called elections. Lukashenko last year stole the election results after the elections. Putin is trying to steal them even before the elections have taken place. More than 100 of the most important opposition or independent candidates were not allowed to participate in the elections. Navalny is in prison, no OSCE observers are allowed to come. Our report recommends not recognising the Parliament of Russia as the legitimate parliament if the elections are recognised as being fraudulent and having been conducted in violation of democratic principles and international law.  That is why next week will be a test for all of us, and the EU institutions, not to be afraid to say that elections were organised in violation of democratic principles and international law, since even now there is a lot of evidence that this is the case. Our report is a message to the Russian people: we are together with them. We need Russia as a good neighbour, with whom we can have good relations. We want the Russian people to enjoy the same human rights, the same rule of law and democracy privileges as we have and we enjoy. We want the Russian people to enjoy a modern and prosperous country. Such a development of Russia would be beneficial for Russian people and for the whole of Europe. And the EU can do a lot to assist Russian people in such a transformation of their country. The EU needs to understand and accept its exceptional role and responsibility in such a transformation. And first of all the EU needs to overcome it’s ‘Westlessness’ as was diagnosed by the Munich Security Conference and Wolfgang Ischinger. Our report provides recommendations on how to overcome this ‘Westlessness’ in political relations with Russia.  The report was supported by a large majority and consensus among major political groups in the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). Such unity is also a strong signal to the Kremlin. I hope that we will be able to keep the same unity here in the plenary. I would like to thank all the shadow reporters with whom it was a real pleasure to elaborate this important report.