Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-25-Speech-3-232"
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"en.20061025.23.3-232"2
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"Mr President, since our last debate there have been substantial developments, to which President-in-Office Lehtomäki has just referred.
Some have pointed to the ongoing discussion on railway issues between Moldova and Ukraine as further proof that Ukraine might abandon its earlier position. The facts, however, do not bear this out. We therefore strongly encourage both sides to find a mutually advantageous solution to this situation as soon as possible.
Our presence on the ground through the EU Border Assistance Mission provides us with an excellent instrument for following the situation and giving advice and assistance to both sides. Let me add that under the new ENP instrument, Moldova will see a substantial increase in our funding. It will also receive a grant under the macro-financial assistance programme to help it address the shocks caused by increased energy prices and the Russian ban on Moldovan wines.
We are highly concerned about the crisis in relations between Georgia and Russia, especially the continuing tensions between the two countries. We are particularly worried by the expulsion of large numbers of Georgians from Russian territory, which appears in direct contradiction to Russia’s commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights and to the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. I also raised this issue recently with Mr Lavrov.
Georgia also bears its share of responsibility. During our recent visit to Georgia in the Troika mission, I urged President Saakashvili to display moderation and encouraged him to rebuild trust.
Let me say a final word on South Ossetia. I think it is disappointing that the recent meeting of the Joint Control Commission for South Ossetia was inconclusive. We understand Georgia’s wish to renew and review the Joint Control Commission’s composition, but existing peace mechanisms should be fully utilised until new ones are in place and the recent Needs Assessment Study and the June 2006 international donors’ conference show that there is scope for a constructive dialogue. We are pleased that this rehabilitation programme is continuing despite the crisis.
We have made a significant financial contribution to assist a peaceful settlement, including a EUR 9.5 million economic rehabilitation programme in South Ossetia. Funds for rehabilitation have also been earmarked under the new EC financial assistance programme for the period from 2007 to 2010.
I think the European Union as a whole has a very important role in supporting any peace settlement. But the most immediate need is to get relations between Russia and Georgia back on a normal track, on a diplomatic track. We will certainly continue our efforts to achieve that objective.
I visited South Caucasus in early October as a member of the Troika, when the ENP Action Plans with all three countries were finalised. They will now be officially signed and adopted in November. I think that this is a basis for strong operational cooperation.
Before I talk about EU support, I think it is important that we also recall the impact of our relations with Russia. During recent months, we have seen gas price increases for Moldova, import bans on Moldovan and Georgian wines and water, the de facto support given to Transnistria in the referendum, and the strong reaction to Georgia’s expulsion of Russian military officers.
These issues were addressed with President Putin in Lahti and I personally raised some of these issues with Foreign Minister Lavrov only a few days ago in Moscow. The forthcoming Foreign Ministers’ Permanent Partnership Council on 3 November and the EU-Russia Summit in Helsinki on 24 November will enable further discussions to be held on these issues.
Let me also mention that the OSCE played a very helpful role in refusing to observe and recognise the referendum in Transnistria and also in returning the Russian officers from Georgia to Russia.
I shall now say a few words specifically about Moldova and Transnistria, and then on Georgia. I would also like to highlight the very successful EU Border Assistance Mission, EUBAM, which has played a very important role in introducing a new customs regime between Moldova and Ukraine. This programme was allocated EUR 20 million for two years and over 70 customs officials and border guards were seconded from our Member States. All major Transnistrian companies have now registered in Chisinau and are working under this new regime. Combating customs fraud will thus crucially cut the illicit revenue currently enjoyed by the Transnistrian leadership.
While we are happy that high-level talks between Russia and Moldova have recently resumed, we have been concerned about Russia’s support for the Transnistrian leadership. In a recent statement, Minister Lavrov called for ‘political recognition of the results’ of the referendum in Transnistria, which neither the European Union nor the OSCE recognised. I think this could complicate the task of finding a solution to this conflict.
We are also worried about the insistence by Transnistria and Russia on the need for a so-called transit protocol between Moldova and Transnistria that would recognise the latter as an independent international economic actor. This issue is the stumbling block in the settlement talks which resumed after a silence of more than six months, albeit not in the full 5+2 format, but with only mediators, with each of the two sides separately, in other words 5+1.
This approach is unacceptable, as we have made clear to Russia on several occasions. More than that, developments on the ground, with all major Transnistrian companies now working legally with Chisinau, show that such an approach is increasingly out of touch with reality. We were also worried that the new Ukrainian Government would change track on this issue. I was very pleased when Prime Minister Yanukovich assured me of the ongoing support of the Ukrainian Government. We will continue to stress the importance of Ukrainian cooperation at the forthcoming summit in Helsinki in a few days’ time."@en1
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