A few days after the discovery of the Bucha massacres and the attack on the Kramatorsk train station, the European Ministers of Foreign Affairs gave, on Monday 11 April, their support to the ongoing investigations to hold Russia accountable for its actions, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
At a breakfast prior to the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, the ministers had a meeting with Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the ICC, during which he informed them of the progress made in the investigation into war crimes in Ukraine. Last March, 41 countries called for an investigation into the atrocities committed in the country.
“Each of the Member States is genuinely committed to ensuring that justice is done...”, explained Dutch Minister Wopke Hoekstra, who initiated the meeting. “We must ensure that there is no two-class society in international law. If there are war crimes, they must be prosecuted. There can be no one outside or above the law, not even a president. I am thinking of Putin”, warned his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced that the EU would “provide as much support as possible to the Ukrainian and ICC prosecutors”, including financially, but also with the EU mission on the ground. He added that the EU would provide assistance in documenting war crimes.
On Friday, from Kyiv, Mr Borrell announced the launch of a €7.5 million project to support investigations by ensuring a wide collection of data on missing persons. In addition, the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM Ukraine) will support the Ukrainian Prosecutor General by providing training and equipment to ensure the security of investigations and the collection of evidence in the field.
On Monday 11 April, French technical and scientific gendarmes also arrived in Ukraine to assist their counterparts in the investigation of war crimes committed around Kyiv.
In front of the ministers, Mr Khan asked for financial and personnel support. Germany and the Netherlands have each announced an additional €1 million in aid and Sweden just under €500,000.
Strengthening support for Ukraine before the battle of Donbas
Highlighting European concerns about the upcoming Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, Mr Borrell said that what might happen in the Donbas made Europeans much more determined to continue military support for Ukraine.
“I am very much afraid that Russia will go to war in the Donbas as the Russian army knows how to do, like a steamroller. The Ukrainians are preparing to face a new phase of the war and we will help them; and the only way to help them is to provide military equipment so that they can fight”, he explained.
Depending on parliamentary approval, EU Member States are expected to agree in the coming days to a further €500 million of aid under the European Peace Facility.
German Minister Annalena Baerbock said the “terrible horrors” seen in recent days “clearly show that Ukraine needs additional military support to defend itself”. “Ukraine needs more military equipment. And especially heavy weapons. And this is not the time to make excuses; it is the time to be creative and pragmatic. And it is precisely on issues such as replacement, equipment, training, that we need to support Ukraine as soon as possible”, she added.
For the Slovak State Secretary, Ivan Korčok, supplying arms to Ukraine is “a clear matter of survival of Ukraine’s ability to defend itself”.
“We have to be sure that we put Ukraine in the best possible position to win the war and the best possible position at the negotiating table”, Mr Hoekstra said. Thus, he said, it requires both that the Ukrainians are as strong as possible on the battlefield and that the sanctions are clearly felt by Russia.
Continue work on sanctions
The ministers therefore discussed the implementation of sanctions and possible additional measures, 3 days after the adoption of a fifth sanctions package. The European Commission has started work on a sixth package, which would include measures on oil. But the Member States are not united on an oil embargo. Germany, Austria and Hungary are reportedly opposed.
On Friday in Kyiv, during the visit of the Commission President and the High Representative, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the EU for the sanctions adopted while calling for additional measures.
“We have to make sure, as the EU, that we continue to raise the bar in terms of sanctions”, Mr Hoekstra explained, adding that for his country all options remain on the table. He said his country was ready to look at all sanctions, including on energy, “as long as European unity is assured”. For the Dane, Jeppe Kofod, we must continue to increase the pressure to stop the war. He wanted to go “as far as possible, which includes energy”.
“Go to Bucha, Irpin... and see for yourselves why sanctions should be imposed”, argued the Lithuanian minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis. He welcomed the fact that the EU is starting to work on a sixth package with oil options. “This means that work has already begun to build consensus. And I hope that this time it will work”, he added.
“The sooner we can include oil and gas in the sanctions, the better, but I recognise that this will not be easy for some Member States”, the Irish Minister, Simon Coveney, acknowledged, saying the EU was spending hundreds of millions of euros importing Russian oil, “and this is undoubtedly helping to finance the war”.
According to Mr Borrell, oil imported by Member States from Russia is four times more than gas imported - last year, €80 billion versus €20 billion. “We should not be under any illusion: even if we cut off Russia’s gas next week, it will not mean that it will not have the means to wage war”, he warned, pointing out that energy measures had a different impact on each Member State.
Global gateway
In addition, the ministers discussed the Global Gateway Strategy, presented by the European Commission last year (see EUROPE 12844/7), which aims to strengthen Europe’s connectivity in several regions of the world. In the current context, “it becomes even more important to reach out to the whole world, giving priorities, providing infrastructure for energy, to make sure that everybody knows that the EU is a geopolitical player”, according to Josep Borrell. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)