On Wednesday 17 July, MEPs reaffirmed the European Parliament’s positions on continued support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and on the Union’s unwavering commitment “to provide political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support for as long as necessary to ensure Ukraine’s victory”.
The resolution Parliament adopted (495 votes in favour, 137 against - mainly from the Patriots for Europe (PfE), Europe of Sovereign Nations (ENS) and Non-attached MEPs - and 47 abstentions. The Left is divided between the three positions), is looking in particular at military assistance. According to Parliament, while this assistance is “important”, it is still “insufficient”. Parliament therefore calls on the EU and its Member States to increase their military support to Ukraine “for as long as necessary and in all possible forms” and to further extend training operations for the Ukrainian armed forces, such as EUMAM Ukraine. MEPs are also “firmly” calling for the removal of restrictions on the use of Western weapons systems delivered to Ukraine against military targets on Russian territory.
During the debate preceding the vote, however, MEPs were divided on the question of sending weapons. Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, Spanish) believes that “all material aid must be provided until the definitive victory” of Ukraine. Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens/EFA, German) added: “If we don’t want Russia to destroy the last remaining infrastructure, we must provide ammunition, effective defence systems and aircraft to defend the airspace”.
While Jordan Bardella (PfE, French) felt that Europe should provide Ukraine with what it needed to maintain the frontline - military defence equipment, ammunition and shells to defend itself - he said he was not in favour of weapons that could strike directly at Russian territory or of Ukraine joining NATO, as this would “increase the risk of escalation with a nuclear power”.
Martin Schirdewan (The Left, German) and René Aust (ENS, German) felt that sending weapons was not the solution. According to the former, sending more weapons will not put an end to the war. “We need to strengthen international organisations and take action on disarmament, not the other way round”, he explained. The latter pointed out that the strategy of delivering arms and imposing sanctions had achieved nothing, but had brought the European States closer to war.
Mr Orbán’s visit to Russia condemned
In its resolution, Parliament condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Russia, deeming it “a flagrant violation of the Treaties and of the Union’s common foreign policy, including the principle of sincere cooperation”. Mr Orbán “cannot claim to represent the Union by violating the common positions of the Union”, warns Parliament, adding that this violation should have repercussions for Hungary.
“Let’s not give in to Putin’s allies, let’s not let Orbán, who is going to Moscow on a self-proclaimed peace mission on behalf of Europe without any mandate of his own. Orbán, who is trampling on our institutions and endangering our Union by courting the Kremlin, which 2 days later bombs a children’s hospital”, denounced Valérie Hayer (Renew Europe, French). “What kind of peace is Orbán talking about with a tyrant like Putin under warrant of the International Criminal Court”, asked Mrs García Pérez, while, according to Andrzej Halicki (EPP, Polish), “Putin should be in The Hague, nobody should be negotiating with him, that’s our task as Europeans”.
The representatives of PfE and ENS, on the other hand, highlighted the efforts of the Hungarian Prime Minister. “If we want peace, the time has come for peace negotiations. Negotiations, even if there is resistance, are essential”, emphasised Mr Aust. According to Mr Bardella, “Hungary, a reliable partner of the Atlantic Alliance, cannot be accused of wanting to keep the channels of discussion open”.
MEPs also deplore the fact that Hungary “has abused its power of veto within the EU Council, thus preventing the granting of essential aid to Ukraine”, urging it to lift its block on the ‘European Peace Facility’.
MEPs also call on the EU Council to extend the sanctions policy against Russia and Belarus and to systematically tackle the problem of sanctions circumvention.
Finally, Parliament condemns the growing number of hybrid attacks carried out by Russia against the EU and its Member States.
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/d1z (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)