On 8 May the European Parliament approved its “Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2007 and EU policy on the matter”. A substantial section is devoted to the situation in Russia.

The lack of any results from consultations between the European Union and Russia on human rights is regretted. The report calls on the European Parliament to become involved in the consultative process. It encourages the efforts made by the EU Council of Ministers and the European Commission to ensure: that the next series of consultations “take place alternately in Russia and in the EU”; that not only representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs take part in the consultations; and that members of the official Russian delegation participate in “the meetings of Russian and European parliamentary bodies or NGOs organised in conjunction with the consultations”.

The report “regrets that the European Union had not succeeded in bringing about policy change in Russia, particularly with regard to sensitive issues such as the situation in Chechnya and other Caucasian republics, the issue of impunity and the independence of the judiciary, the treatment of human rights defenders and political prisoners including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the independence of the media and freedom of expression, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, respect for the rule of law and human rights protection in the armed forces ...” [...]

The report expresses concern about the pressure exerted on non-governmental organisations as a result of the selective application of the new 2006 Russian legislation on NGOs.

Concern is also expressed at the “ongoing failure” of the Prosecutor General's office “to respect the right of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to a fair trial in accordance with international standards”. The report voices “distress at the refusal of the Russian authorities to provide life-saving medical treatment for Vasily Aleksanyan, ex-vice-president of Yukos, despite being repeatedly called upon by the European Court of Human Rights and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to provide the same.” [...]

The authors of the report urge the EU Commission and Council of Ministers “to raise human rights issues, including individual cases, with the Russian authorities at the highest level and in the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Russia”.