What is the return of Russia to the Council of Europe the name?

Five years after its suspension for the annexation of Crimea, Russia rejoins the Council of Europe. Its Plenary Assembly (PACE) voted, on the night of 24 to 25 June, new operating rules allowing this return. In 2014, the Russian delegation had, among other sanctions, been suspended from voting rights.

This Russian return to the Council of Europe arouses both surprise and dissatisfaction, and can be read as a "double message", according to Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean, researcher and director of the Ifri Russia / NEI Center, contacted by France 24. "On the one hand, it would be very detrimental to deprive Russian citizens of an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (a jurisdiction of the Council of Europe, Ed). important for a country where we know that justice is not free and is submitted to the executive, "she says.

She goes on to say: "On the other hand, the Council of Europe is yielding everything without any compensation, without concessions from Russia in this matter.This is a negative message sent to several countries: the Baltic countries, Poland and of course Ukraine. "

But the return of Russia has not been without diplomatic turmoil. The Ukrainian reaction was prompted by his foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin - who symbolically recalled his permanent representative to the institution. "The Council of Europe has lost our trust, and it will be difficult to find," he said, summarizing the Ukrainian feeling of "treason" on the part of the European organization.

European contradiction

The presence in the same hemicycle of Russia and Ukraine, two countries that have experienced frequent tensions since 2014, is enough to raise questions. "(The two delegations) will be able to avoid each other in the corridors, and if they need it, they will be able to talk to each other.There is the public discourse and the reality on the ground", says Jean-Christophe Romer, specialist of Russia , contacted by France 24. Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean believes, meanwhile, that "this 'failure' to not have been able to defend its positions within the Council of Europe" is not without consequence for Ukraine which "is going to have a hard political line with regard to Russia".

Russia's return to PACE appears to be a disavowal of Ukraine within the institution but also a change in relations with the European Union. "Vladimir Putin bet on strategic patience" in his relations with European states, according to Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean. "The message 'we take sanctions and, five years later, we pass the sponge to open a new page' strengthens Russia in its positions."

Add to this the fact that four of the 18 members of the Russian delegation returning to PACE are still facing sanctions ... from the European Union. "This point makes that the Russians say that by insisting a little, the European Union and the Europeans can still accept the easing, return to their positions," says Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean. "This gives them hope for a partial lifting of the sanctions of the European Union for the future, without them having to give in."

Russia's return to the Council of Europe, supported by France and Germany, could also represent a geopolitical interest for European states. Jean-Christophe Romer hypothesizes that this "may have a connection with the fact that Europe needs Russia against the United States". And he said: "Faced with the uncertainty generated by US policy (on the international scene, Editor's note), maybe the big European powers say they need a Russian counterweight."

Council's Bugdet in Danger

The suspension of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe has represented a considerable budgetary challenge for the European institution, whose budget is nearly 440 million euros for the year 2019. Russia is one of them five largest contributors - up to € 33 million a year. A sum suspended since its withdrawal in the course of 2017.

This interruption of financial contribution strikes the Council of Europe's budget to the tune of nearly 90 million euros over the period 2017-2019. This will result in the adoption of a savings plan within the Council of Europe in 2020-2021. In an opinion adopted on 25 June by the PACE, the latter "regrets that (this) contingency plan is put in place to absorb the scale of the debt left voluntarily by a Member State (Russia, Ed)." It is worried about the human cost that this will represent: a starting plan of 250 people, or 10% of Council of Europe staff.

The financial contribution of Russia "is one of the strong parameters (with the other European states, Ed)," says Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean. "This is where the Russians can say 'money can fix everything'. (...) This gives an argument to Russia about the possibility of buying the loyalty of Europeans."