Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-07-Speech-3-054"
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"en.20080507.12.3-054"2
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"Madam President, President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, last week I had the opportunity, with the delegation, to spend time not only in Tbilisi, but also in Abkhazia and the occupied part of the district of Gali. Two things touched me particularly: firstly, the fate of the people there who were forced to flee, only some of whom have been able to return to cultivate their fields, and who of course have difficulty selling their produce over a border that has suddenly been drawn through their country.
What also concerned me was the representative of the
government we spoke to, who was obviously rather incompetent. Commissioner, I fear that, as a result – you mentioned this specifically – Russia will give the people of Abkhazia very little opportunity or possibility to enter into a peace plan.
Our sympathies therefore naturally lie with Georgia, a small country being put under pressure by a very large neighbour. However, I believe that both sides must exercise restraint, especially at present, and I therefore support the statements by the Council and the Commission.
Another reason I do so is because I found what the Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia told our committee yesterday, and the way in which he said it, rather unsatisfactory, as it smacked of warmongering talk that ought to be avoided at this critical stage.
The elections are imminent and some things, including in the direction of the elections, are naturally being exploited. Russia is falling into exactly this trap and even indirectly and unwittingly supporting those forces in Georgia that might want to use the conflict for their own political ends. Let me repeat: we fully support Georgia and its aspirations for independence and integrity – there is no room for discussion on that point. We hope, too, that the upcoming elections really will be conducted freely and fairly.
Two things, in particular, are pushing Georgia towards the European Union and this is important too, in my view. The first is the relaxation of visa restrictions. It is unacceptable that Russians – and, indirectly, Abkhazian and Georgian citizens issued with Russian passports – have visa freedoms that Georgians themselves do not. That is unfair and unjust, and it must be rectified. Secondly, a truly multilateral peace-keeping mission needs to be set up in Georgia. We cannot allow a peace group to be active there that is made up, on the one hand, of Russia, one party to the conflict, and on the other hand, of the major party that has virtually occupied the area and is now also providing the peacekeeping force.
I believe that Georgia’s desire to prevent this is justified and it is crucial – the Commissioner has already said as much to the committee – that we maintain the ability to keep negotiating. Naturally, we cannot admit one hundred per cent of the details and the wordings that Georgia comes up with – we are the European Union – but these two demands from Georgia deserve particular support. I hope that the Commission will be active and will indeed be successful in supporting Georgia’s concerns here."@en1
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