Thursday, 7 July 2011 - Strasbourg

Explanations of vote:

Pino Arlacchi (S&D ), in writing . − I voted in favour of this resolution because it condemns the obstacles to political pluralism in the country. Russia remains one of European Union's most important partners in building strategic cooperation so it is important to condemn the great difficulty faced by the political parties in registering for the Duma elections in December.

The case of the People’s Freedom Party is an example. I want to stress that political pluralism represents a cornerstone of democracy and modern society and a source of political legitimacy. Russia is committed to democracy via the OSCE and should aim to be a template of democracy for post-Soviet society. For these reasons the obstacles which effectively constrain political competition in Russia need to be overcome.

[source: www.europarl.europa.eu]