B3-1788, 1789 and 1790/93

Resolution on the European Council - Elections in the Russian Federation

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its earlier resolutions on the situation in the Russian Federation, especially its resolution of 14 October 1993,

-having regard to the elections for the State Duma and the Federal Council as well as to the referendum on the Constitution that took place in the Russian Federation on 12 December 1993,

-having regard to the report presented by its delegation of observers to these elections,

A.whereas it is committed to the continuation of the process of democratic and economic reform in the Russian Federation,

B.whereas these parliamentary elections were the first free and pluralistic elections to take place in Russia in the last 75 years,

C.emphasizing the need to achieve a social market economy in the Russian Federation which should contribute to an improvement in the standard of living of the majority of the people there,

1.Welcomes the fact that the elections for the State Duma and the Federal Council of the Russian Federation as well as the referendum on the constitution were, according to the reports now available, conducted freely and fairly;

2.Awaits with interest the full report of the European Media Institute, but notes its initial conclusions both with regard to the conduct of the political campaign and the constitutional referendum;

3.Stresses that the preparatory time for the organisation of these elections was extremely short, and that during the pre-election period certain deficiencies were noted, especially as regards the collection of signatures for the registration of the electoral blocs and the individual candidates, and discrimination between certain electoral blocs in the allocation of media time and space;

4.Notes the adoption of the draft constitution, but stresses that certain improvements should be made in future in close cooperation between the newly elected parliamentary bodies and the President, especially regarding relations between the President and the Parliament, as well as relations between the central authorities and the republics and regions;

5.Urges all democratic forces in the Russian Federation to guarantee the continuation of the democratic process instigated by these elections, and to guarantee the human and democratic rights of all citizens of the Russian Federation;

6.Warns of the great danger that the advance of extreme nationalist and xenophobic forces puts in peril, not only the nascent democracy of Russia, but also international stability;

7.Expresses the hope that the newly elected Parliament, together with the President of the Federation, will address, as a priority, the achievement of a social market economy that takes account of the need to establish a decent standard of living for the majority of the people of the Russian Federation;

8.Calls once again on the European Union and its Member States to develop, on an adequate scale, those policies of trade and technical assistance that can help the programme of reform to succeed;

9.Confirms its approval of the coordination task undertaken by the Commission pursuant to the Council decision of 8 November 1993 on monitoring the elections, financed by the TACIS Democracy Programme created by the European Parliament, but repeats that the Parliament should be fully associated in both the decision-making procedure and the implementation of these decisions;

10.Also draws attention therefore to its budgetary decision on second reading releasing 50% of TACIS funds for 1994 and emphatically reminds the Commission and the Council of the urgency of promoting measures to improve the management of these programmes as proposed in previous positions adopted by Parliament;

11.Urges the Council and the Commission to implement and extend the provisional partnership agreement with the Russian Federation, which in its final form must include a clause concerning human rights, and in this way to reinforce the cooperation between the Russian Federation and the European Union, whilst deepening other links with the Russian people and their representatives;

12.Expects that the Russian Federation will fulfil a positive role for stability and peace in Europe by fully respecting existing international treaty obligations;

13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the President of the Russian Federation and the parliamentary institutions of the Russian Federation.