Brussels, 24/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - During a debate on 23 October, MEPs called for Russia to release the Greenpeace activists and two journalists who were accompanying them. They were all arrested on 18 September as they were demonstrating against an oil drilling platform in the Arctic. In the view of Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, Slovenia), the European Parliament should express its solidarity with the activists. “The Russian authorities don't want to understand anything. They are uncompromising. This is an attitude that we can't accept. Russia must release the activists immediately”, he said. Their release is also called for my Mikael Gustafsson (GUE/NGL, Sweden)
“It is inadmissible and out of all proportion that these activists have been (…) provisionally arrested (…). And in relations between the EU and Russia, this is unacceptable”, said Wim Van de Camp (EPP, Netherlands). He asked what the EU can do and if the issue will be discussed at the European Council on 24-25 November. Rebecca Harms (GUE/NGL, Germany) also called on the Council to help the Dutch government. “It's about protecting the Arctic and about Europe explaining to Russia that we will not tolerate what is happening in terms of the environment and democracy”, she said. She stated that accusing the activists and journalists of acts of piracy is “completely out of proportion”.
The Council, represented by Lithuania's Minister for European Affairs Vytas Leskevicius, stated that that EU believes the “accusations of piracy” to be “out of proportion”, hoping that the crew will soon be released and, while waiting, that it might have access to legal assistance. “We must be careful to protect the imprisoned activists and journalists”, he said. He stressed the importance of respecting the country's wishes about dealing with the issue on a consular level. He stated that the Council has still not discussed this issue but that the European External Action Service is in close contact with the member states and with Greenpeace to monitor how the situation develops.
European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik believed that the accusation levied against the activists was “excessive”, and that “their role and the issue to which they were drawing attention” should not be forgotten. “We still have hope that the situation can be unblocked”, he said, although Russia does not want to accept the arbitration procedure before the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, proposed by the Netherlands. On 23 October, Russia announced that the charges have changed from “piracy” to “hooliganism” (our translation throughout).
Elsewhere, 91 MEPs from 20 member states and from seven political groups have signed a statement of solidarity with the Greenpeace activists and journalists, calling for their release. (CG/transl.fl)