68. Expresses its serious concern about recent repressive laws and their arbitrary enforcement by the Russian authorities, often leading to the harassment of NGOs, civil society activists, human rights defenders, minorities and LGBTI persons, and calls for the EU to express this concern at all political levels; calls for the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other political prisoners, and deplores the political use of justice; urges the Russian authorities to impartially investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of Sergei Magnitsky, Natalia Estemirova, Anna Politkovskaya, Stanislav Markelov, and Vasily Alexanian; regrets the Council‘s failure to consider Parliament’s recommendation of 23 October 2012 on the Magn ...[+++]itsky case; calls on the Council, therefore, to adopt a decision establishing a common EU list of officials involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky; adds that this Council decision should impose targeted sanctions on those officials; expresses its deepest concern at the activities of far-right vigilante groups contacting LGBTI persons online to entrap and assault them and post hundreds of videos of these acts online; calls on the EU delegation and Member State embassies in Russia to increase their support for defenders of the human rights of LGBTI persons, in line with the relevant guidelines;

The excessive use of force by police and the overall absence of dialogue during the protests in May/June have raised serious concerns. This underlines the urgent need for further reforms and the promotion of dialogue across the political spectrum and in society more broadly, as well as for respect of fundamental rights in practice.

58. Welcomes the fact that China is engaging with the EU in the human rights dialogue; asks Member State governments, the Commission and China to use this dialogue as a real opportunity to bring about changes in the internal policies of China, where major human rights concerns continue to exist, in particular concerning the use of the death penalty and the suppression of freedom of association and religion; stresses that an increasingly positive trade relationship must be contingent on human rights reforms; is concerned at the recent reversal of EU policy by the Council in relation to the embargo on arms sales to China and strongly re ...[+++]commends that the arms embargo remain intact until greater progress is made on human rights issues; calls for an official reassessment of the Tiananmen events by the Chinese authorities, the publication of the list of political prisoners and their unconditional release; notes with concern the treatment of people in Tibet and Xinjiang in the areas of the freedom of association and religion;

55. Welcomes the fact that China is engaging with the EU in the human rights dialogue; asks Member State governments, the Commission and China to use this dialogue as a real opportunity to bring about changes in the internal policies of China, where major human rights concerns continue to exist, in particular concerning the use of the death penalty and the suppression of freedom of association and religion ; stresses that an increasingly positive trade relationship must be contingent on human rights reforms; is concerned at the recent reversal of EU policy by the Commission in relation to the embargo on arms sales to China and strongl ...[+++]y recommends that the arms embargo remain intact until greater progress is made on human rights issues; calls for an official reassessment of Tiananmen by the Chinese authorities, the publication of the list of political prisoners and their unconditional release; notes with concern the treatment of people in Tibet and Xinjiang in the areas of the freedom of association and religion;

The fact that a unilateral propaganda megaphone is resounding from Brussels across the Union, and at the citizen’s expense, concerns me greatly.

Finally, we are very concerned about the future of the A-30 lines, or rather how they are going to be spent.