• 12/11/2010
  President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek addresses EU-Russia Industrialists Roundtable - 7 December
  
  

  Selected remarks from the speech of EP President Jerzy Buzek:

  "Russia is one of the EU's most important strategic partners: in all areas and in all fields. Our long term future has to be defined by what I call the three 'Cs' - continued constructive cooperation.

  I was in Moscow in June where I had a fruitful meeting with President Medvedev. I believe that his modernisation agenda is a step in the right direction, but it must be accompanied by a strong civil society component and genuine progress in democratic reforms. I would go even further and argue that if modern Russia wants to have a strong, self-confident and free society, it needs an independent and fair judiciary. This is in the best interest of Russia itself.

  You, who are sitting around this table, know only too well how important it is that the rule of law is applied if you wish your business to succeed. The case of Sergey Magnitski is particularly worrying. This is a shocking example that people fighting against corruption in Russia can feel neither safe nor protected.

  Overall there is a much better atmosphere today. The reset policy of President Obama, the recent Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon, and today's signing of a memorandum of understanding on Russia's membership to the WTO at the EU-Russia summit - to which President Medvedev has arrived directly after a constructive visit in Warsaw - are all symbols of this change.

  We have to work more actively together in pursuing a peaceful solution to the protracted conflicts in the region such as in the breakaway regions of Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno Karabakh.

  I support putting in place an EU-Russia free trade area in the long run, however, still much has to be done before this becomes reality. First and foremost, Russia must join the WTO and the Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan can not become an obstacle in this regard.

  Another key area is energy: the European Parliament has always supported the need to diversify energy sources in the EU. The principles of the Energy Charter Treaty and the Transit Protocols must be the basis for all relations when it comes to energy. This is why it is so important to enshrine these principles in the currently negotiated new EU-Russia Agreement.

  In essence we need to start thinking of an energy policy without borders not just within the EU but also in our neighbourhood."

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