Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-18-Speech-3-303"
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"en.20060118.22.3-303"2
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".
Mr President, I should like first to come back to the election. It was the Council of Europe which sent an eight-member fact-finding mission; we did not send an election observation mission. The elections were not free or fair, there were deficiencies, but at the same time progress was made, because for the first time they took place without violence in such a difficult environment. A local service, financed by the Commission, said that there were some irregularities, but, generally, voter participation was higher than ever before: there was a 55% turnout. We see that there is some progress, but we know that the situation on the whole certainly is not satisfactory.
Having said that, let me also say what the reasons are for it. There is a political conflict that needs a political solution, but there is also much poverty and therefore the root causes of poverty also have to be addressed. That is what we in the Commission are trying to do currently with our Tacis Programme in three areas: health, education – especially job-creation – and income-generation. We know that the main reason for many people breaking out is because they do not have jobs.
Thirdly, as I mentioned very clearly, as regards the NGOs we will now be taking very careful note of the way the provisions are being implemented, since it was only yesterday or today that President Putin signed this law. We now have to look at it. I agree with the Presidency that it has to be in regular political dialogue with Russia.
You can be sure that we always mention things. As I said before, I have been speaking with Foreign Minister Lavrov on this issue and at least a few amendments have been taken into consideration, but on the whole I agree with those who say that, as regards Russia, we need a coherent policy that encompasses energy security. We know that Russia is an important supplier for us, it is a strategic partner for us, but it is also a partner with whom we sometimes have dialogue where critical remarks are made."@en1
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