Brussels, 02/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 1 October, European Parliament President Martin Schulz asked the Russian Federation “immediately” to disclose the full list of all Members of the European Parliament affected by the restrictive measures of the Russian Federation, and to communicate the clear reasons why they are banned from entering the country.
In his letter to Russia's ambassador to the EU, Schulz underlined that “the EU has gradually and transparently imposed and made public individual its sanctions on certain Russian officials for their role in illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilisation of Eastern Ukraine. In stark contrast, the Russian restrictive measures were applied in an arbitrary way without a reasoning for their adoption or any forewarning of their existence”.
The European Parliament press release said that this letter came in response to a message sent by the Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, which attempted to justify the action taken by the Russian authorities in preventing the joint leader of the Greens Group at the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms, from entering Russian territory on 25 September (see EUROPE 11164). Schulz subsequently sent the ambassador a letter of protest. The high representative has also denounced the “lack of transparency displayed by the Russian authorities with regard to people included on this blacklist”. (CG)