Brussels, 01/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May, Europeans criticised the black list published by the Russian authorities, which forbids access to the Russian territory for 89 European politicians from 15 EU countries.
Among them are 17 MEPs, including former president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland), leader of the ALDE Group Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium), chair of the security and defence sub-committee Anna Elzbieta Fotyga (Poland) and co-leader of the Greens/EFA Group Rebecca Harms (Germany). Several former MEPs are also sanctioned, as is former European commissioner for neighbourhood policy Stefan Füle.
The president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the only acting president of a sanctioned European institution, Henri Malosse (France), wondered whether it is a coincidence that he is the only president in office concerned when his institution is the one that represents civil society.
For several months, several European politicians have been refused entry into Russia, on the grounds that they are on a confidential “stop list”. The EU, its member states and European citizens concerned called for this list to be published each time someone's entry was refused. In the end, the Russian authorities sent the list to European diplomats - some of whom decided to make it public.
An arbitrary and unjustified step. European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he was “consterned” by reports about this black list. “It is unacceptable that this further diminishes our mutual trust and hinders all the efforts for a constructive dialogue to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the current geopolitical crisis”, he added. Schulz said that the European Parliament had not been officially notified of the fact that its members were the target of these sanctions. “Once more, I ask the Russian authorities to guarantee the transparency of their decisions, in line with international law and legal obligations, allowing the people targeted to defend themselves and make an appeal”, Schulz stated.
“We consider this step to be totally arbitrary and unjustified, particularly the lack of any additional detail or transparency”, said Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Kocijancic said that there was no “other information on the legal basis, criteria or process of this decision”.
“The minimum would have been to let the people concerned know about the reservations that really concern them, or at least that such a list be made public”, said Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The list “is not based on international law, is not transparent and is impossible to contest” before a law court, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Parliament reflecting on steps. Kocijancic stated that the European External Action Service (EEAS) was in “close” contact with the member states of the citizens concerned by this ban on entering the Russian territory, as well as with the Russian authorities themselves.
Schulz announced that he was due to have a meeting with Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, on 1 June. “Should there be unsatisfactory replies, I reserve the right to take appropriate steps in response”, he added. Green MEPs, Harms and Heidi Hautala (Finland) who is also on the list, said they wanted the situation to be discussed at the next plenary session of the European Parliament on 8-11 June. “The Greens/EFA Group has called for a debate at the European Parliament on the consequences of this list (…) MEPs must determine if and how a dialogue with the Russian Parliament is possible in these conditions”, they stated in a press release. There were already plans for MEPs to debate the report by Gabrielius Landbergis (EPP, Lithuania) on the state of play in relations between the European Union and Russia.
Moscow criticises Europeans' “absurdity”. On 1 June, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised the absurdity of the EU countries' indignation. “I am even embarrassed to explain the absurdity (…) of such reasoning”, he told a press conference. In Lavrov's view, the steps decided upon by Russia are “proportionate and are even more so than the unilateral sanctions of the EU”. “These sanctions concern people who have actively supported a coup d'état, following which the Russians in Ukraine have suffered persecution and discrimination”, he added.
The EU has taken out sanctions on 151 people linked to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Every European sanction is based on legal standards. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)