At the centre of the controversy is the resolution's failure to mention who started the hostilities. Speaking in plenary, the German leader of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Martin Schulz said his group would have preferred a reference to Georgia's "inappropriate initial behaviour" at the start of the conflict. He also complained that such a reference did not feature the negotiations on the joint resolution with other political groups.
But Parliament's rapporteur on the Georgia resolution Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, Germany) dismissed the criticism. "The conflict started with Russia issuing passports to South Ossetians and Russian troops shooting at villages. It is clear who started the conflict, and Mr. Schulz's statement is more a message to his own group than anything else," said Brok, speaking to EurActiv.
In spite of the controversy, the resolution was voted by 549 in favor, 68 against and 61 abstentions.
Speaking to EurActiv, PES Vice Chairman Jan Marinus Wiersma (Netherlands) explained that his group wanted the Parliament to speak with one voice on Georgia, adding that this was why the Socialists voted in favour of the resolution. "But we are more critical than others on Georgia," Wiersma stressed.
He further explained that the draft was based on two major ideas: that the Parliament would support the decisions by the extraordinary EU summit on Georgia (EurActiv 02/09/08) and that there would be no call for sanctions against Russia.
Wiersma added that the Socialists had also been careful not to convey a message to the Georgians that the European Parliament was promising them NATO membership. This is why the Socialists objected to a paragraph which "recalls" that at the last NATO summit in Bucharest, it was "agreed that Georgia would become a member of the Alliance, and takes the view that Georgia is still on track eventually to join the Alliance".
Speaking to EurActiv, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Jacek Sariusz-Wolski (EPP-ED, Poland) said that, for his part, the most important issue is that the resolution contains key statements condemning the Russian presence and occupation of Georgia. He also stressed the importance of its call for the implementation of the six-point plan brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and its commitment to a robust EU contribution by sending an ESDP mission and providing generous reconstruction assistance package.
He also expressed satisfaction that the resolution refers to the Swedish-Polish proposal for an increased cooperation with Georgia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
