It has been a long time since the esplanade at the European Parliament has been thronged by so many people. On Tuesday 1 March, at the call of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, hundreds of people, including members of parliament, former well-known personalities of the institutions and Ukrainian nationals, massed in front of the Parliament building to support Ukraine.
“In this house, we will work to find a place where you will have the space to send that message that everyone needs. When you look at this house, you will find friends, allies, throughout the process. We must face the future together”, the President of the Parliament began.
“We will continue to help with logistics, military equipment, massive sanctions. We will do everything necessary”, she continued, punctuating her speech with reminders of the “responsibility” borne by the Kremlin and the Belarusian government.
In the fleeting sunshine, several former members of Parliament could be found amongst the compact crowd stretching from the entrance of the Parliament to the other end of the Simone Veil agora.
“The most important thing today is that we are united. We could not have imagined a fortnight ago, or even 10 days ago, that we could be as united as we are today. We must never forget that”, former Parliament President Jerzy Buzek told EUROPE.
“We are back in the past, to things the EU has already experienced. We must remember this for decades, not just for the next few weeks”, he added.
“We are a European family and Ukrainian citizens are European, we have to support them. Vladimir Putin has made the EU stronger and more united. This is exactly what Putin did not want. And this is our answer”, said Hans-Gert Pöttering, who preceded Buzek at the head of the European Parliament, to EUROPE.
After Roberta Metsola’s speech, some of the people present in front of the Parliament remained on site to the sound of Ukrainian songs sung by nationals draped in yellow and blue.
At the same time, in front of the Parliament, the Romanian MEP Ramona Strugariu (Renew Europe) summarised and concluded for EUROPE: “Being here today is the least we can do. We still have a lot to do, and if we don’t stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people, this is something that will affect us all.” (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)