The European Parliament is preparing to adopt a resolution on the Russia-Ukraine crisis at an extraordinary plenary session in hybrid format (due to health conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic) on Tuesday 1 March, in which Member States are asked to work towards granting candidate country status to Ukraine, according to a draft version obtained by EUROPE on Monday 28 February. On the other hand, they give a warning to candidate countries who do not align themselves with the European sanctions.
They thus show their full support to Ukraine and its people. In this context, they call on the EU institutions to work towards granting candidate status to Ukraine, in accordance with Article 49 TEU, and to integrate the country into the Single Market in the meantime. In this respect, they regret Serbia’s position in not aligning itself with the EU sanctions against Russia. This decision “undermines its EU accession process”, it says.
MEPs recall that they expect the candidate countries to align themselves with the European sanctions. For them, the candidate countries must align themselves not only with the EU acquis, but also with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.
In general, the resolution, which was negotiated by the group chairs and co-chairs of the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left, unsurprisingly and strongly condemns Russia’s “aggression” and “invasion” of Ukraine. It also condemns Belarus’ support for this aggression.
MEPs call for a broadening of sanctions against Russia in order to weaken it permanently economically, in particular the Russian industrial and military base. They demand that the same sanctions be applied to Belarus.
Interestingly, the negotiators of the resolution call for a strengthening of European energy independence, in particular with regard to Russian gas, oil and coal. For them, the diversification of supplies must be accelerated and the energy efficiency of buildings improved. Above all, they demand that the Nord Stream 2 viaduct be abandoned.
They reject Russia’s rhetoric of threatening to use weapons of mass destruction - a threat that runs counter to Russia’s international commitments. In this context, they call for an end to all Member States’ cooperation with Russia in the nuclear field, in particular with Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company.
After a debate in the early afternoon, MEPs will adopt a resolution (see EUROPE 12898/6). The results are expected in the late afternoon.
To consult the draft resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/j2 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)