Strasbourg, 27/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the Parliament adopted, by 65 votes in favour and 2 abstentions, a resolution expressing concern about pressure brought to bear on opposition groups and non-governmental organisations to oblige them to abstain from all activities carried out against the president and the government, and to prevent the media from reporting on this. “Democracy has been weakened in Russia”, state the MEPs, speaking out against the worsening general climate in the country ahead of the parliamentary elections (December 2007) and the presidential elections (March 2008). In particular, the MEPs condemn “the excessive use of force” during peaceful demonstrations in Moscow (14 April) and St Petersburg (15 April), calling upon the Russian authorities to respect the freedom of expression and the freedom of association. They also called for the Duma to set up a working group tasked with investigating these events. The EU should improve its dialogue on human rights with Moscow “in order to make it more effective and based on results”, the MEPs add, calling upon the Commission and the Council to voice these concerns together at the summit with Russia, to be held in Samara on 18 May. (ab)