The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, announced, on Friday 4 March in Marseille, the establishment of a structured dialogue between the European Parliament and the Ukrainian National Parliament, the Rada, during an online meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Chairman of the Ukrainian National Parliament, and some 20 Speakers of national parliaments.
From Marseille, where she was attending the 9th Summit of Cities and Regions (see other news), Ms Metsola recalled, during the meeting, that one of the major objectives of the Russian invasion was to target and paralyse Ukraine’s democratic institutions.
For the President, the objective is therefore to help Ukraine safeguard its democratic institutions, which are “facing an existential threat”. “We need to build up their resilience, cooperating notably in the areas of cyber security, strategic communication, and hybrid threats, including the fight against disinformation”, she stressed, according to a press release.
Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk urged participants to stop all contact with Russian MPs, including members of Russian parliamentary delegations to international organisations, in order to further isolate Russia. He called for more sanctions against Moscow, such as increasing the number of Russian banks excluded from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, an embargo on Russian raw materials, and the opening of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians. The meeting, which lasted about an hour, was organised at the initiative of the European Parliament President. The aim was to establish the Rada’s priorities and needs in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and also to provide “a secure virtual environment” for the Ukrainian Parliament to continue its parliamentary work and to ensure exchanges between the European Parliament and the Rada, a source explained.
The second objective was to better coordinate the national parliaments in order to support the Rada more effectively and to match the messages of the national parliaments, she explained during a press briefing.
Asked by EUROPE whether Ukraine could be given false hopes of membership (see EUROPE 12901/1), the President replied that any state in the world could apply for membership, as in the case of Georgia or Moldova (see EUROPE 12903/11).
“It is important for us to tell Ukraine that it must look towards Europe and not away from it”, she said, assuring that the European Parliament would follow and continue to support the accession process.
As for the creation of a European fund or funding lines to support Ukraine, the President said that no option should be excluded in view of the situation.
Also in response to EUROPE, the President confirmed that the infringement proceedings against Poland on the Rule of law should continue, as the Rule of law must be protected wherever it is threatened. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens, Camille-Cerise Gessant, Lionel Changeur and Mathieu Bion)