MEPs called on the EU on Thursday to adopt an immediate embargo on Russian gas, oil, coal and nuclear fuel.
In the joint resolution that was adopted (513 votes in favour, 22 against and 19 abstentions), the European Parliament “calls for an immediate full embargo on Russian imports of oil, coal, nuclear fuel and gas”.
The issue of an immediate gas embargo was the subject of three almost identical amendments - which were voted on simultaneously - as the draft text was based on an embargo “as soon as possible”. These amendments were adopted by 413 votes in favour, 93 against and 46 abstentions. In a resolution of 28 February, MEPs called for oil and gas imports to be restricted.
In this resolution, they call for additional measures, including the exclusion of Russian banks from the SWIFT system. They also want a ban on access to EU territorial waters and ports by Russian vessels or vessels coming from or going to a Russian port, and on road transport of goods from and to Russia and Belarus.
New measures should be imposed on Russian politicians and oligarchs, as well as on public figures who spread aggressive propaganda in Russia in favour of Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Parliament adds.
Furthermore, “the full and effective implementation of existing sanctions must now be a priority”, says the Parliament, which calls for Russia’s exclusion from multilateral cooperation organisations, including the G20, “which would be an important sign that the international community will not return to business as usual with the aggressor state”.
Expressing its “outrage and indignation” at the reported atrocities, the Parliament insists that the perpetrators of war crimes and other serious rights violations, as well as the government officials and military leaders responsible, must be held accountable. In its view, the EU should take all necessary steps to ensure that the actions of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko are prosecuted as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Parliament also calls for the establishment of humanitarian corridors and safe passages and the strengthening of humanitarian aid networks, as well as the opening of green land corridors to bring into Ukraine all the products needed to maintain agricultural production and to bring out those agricultural products that can still be exported.
MEPs also believe that arms supplies to Ukraine should be stepped up, and call for work to begin on a Marshall Plan-like fund to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
Finally, for the Parliament, Ukraine should be granted EU candidate status.
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/16i (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)