Brussels, 01/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - As European leaders were meeting in extraordinary European Council to discuss the implications of the Russo-Georgian conflict (see related article), the Robert Schuman Foundation, on Monday 1 September, published a report entitled, “The EU and the Russo-Georgian War” (http: //http://www.robert-schuman.org/derniere_lettre.php ) which suggests that the EU should be firm but responsible with regard to Moscow. Firstly, in terms of international law, Europe must be clear in its condemnation of Moscow's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and “remind Moscow of the rules of international law,” say the report's two authors, Michel Foucher and Jean-Dominique Giuliani. Recognising the independence of the two Georgian regions without consulting the UN Security Council and without informing the OSCE “is a serious breach of the rules of international relations, that is unprecedented in recent history on the part of a Security Council member,” they say. Drawing a parallel with the independence of Kosovo, as Moscow has done, is, the authors claim, “neither accurate nor legally relevant”. Georgia, which unilaterally began the military conflict at the start of August, has also acted in a way that “is not in line with European values and rules,” according to Foucher and Giuliani. The EU ought to pursue the failings in law and consider temporarily suspending both Russia and Georgia from the Council of Europe, while awaiting the outcome of an international investigation into the facts and the chain of events. “The European Union could call for this suspension and organise it, since the Council of Europe is the embodiment of the Europe of Law,” the authors say. Secondly, on the political level, Russia's actions must be “condemned most severely”. “The EU has to inform it in no uncertain terms that this attitude is unacceptable and could have a direct effect on the visa system for Russian nationals, since nationality and these documents no longer provide the necessary administrative assurances,” the report says. Given the consequences for the EU and for the Schengen Area, setting up an EU-Russia Commission to look at the conditions for the granting of these documents could be put to Russia, the report suggests. The EU could also freeze the current negotiations on the new partnership agreement until there is full compliance with the six-point agreement i.e. until Russian forces return to their pre-7 August positions, the authors say. Thirdly, The EU should boost its presence in the region, “not by ill-considered promises of systematic accession, but by additional, perhaps exceptional, human and financial efforts on behalf of all the people concerned and to rebuild the area”. The EU must not feel dependent on Russia in any way and must employ its economic muscle to make Russia behave in a way that is more in line with international practice and European requirements, the Robert Schuman Foundation recommends.
On Monday, the Thomas More Institute also published a piece by Jean-Sylvestre Mongrenier: “Georgian Frontlines: Challenging the West”, which provides an interesting analysis of the Russo-Georgian crisis, its causes and consequences (http: //institut-thomas-more.org/showNews/240). (H.B./transl.rt)