On Friday 21 October, the leader of the ALDE Group at the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, criticised the lack of political consensus among European leaders when it comes to relations with Russia. He stated that Europeans say that all options are on the table but due to lack of agreement, they fail to spell out that the options could include extra sanctions on Russia (see EUROPE 16651).
"The response by EU leaders to Russian brutality is to keep their arms crossed in the hope that one day Putin’s troops will stop killing civilians in Aleppo", Verhofstadt said in a press release.
He added: "What I really expected from this EU summit was an enforcement mechanism, to make sure that UN Security Council resolutions and deals made on Syria are fully respected. Sadly, it seems the European Parliament’s request for much needed enforcement measures were thrown into the bin by heads of state." In a joint letter to the president of the European Council on 19 October, Verhofstadt, along with the leader of the EPP Group at the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, and the co-leader of the Greens/EFA Group at the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms, called for decisions to be launched to arrange further measures against Russia if it continues to violate UN Security Council resolutions. However, in a resolution on Syria adopted by the European Parliament plenary on 6 September, the MEPs did not address the question of sanctions (see EUROPE 11640).
In an interview with the Donaukurier newspaper on 21 October, Weber regretted that Russia’s methods of exerting economic pressure on some countries were working. He said a clear and united European response was needed, adding that if sanctions were not to be decided now, they should not be abandoned either, as one had to keep instruments up one’s sleeve.
The outcome of the European summit, including relations with Russia and the situation in Syria, are to be discussed at the European Parliament plenary on Wednesday 26 October. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)