Motion for a resolution - B9-0200/2022Motion for a resolution
B9-0200/2022

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022, including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation

5.4.2022 - (2022/2560(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Michael Gahler, Rasa Juknevičienė, Željana Zovko, David McAllister, Paulo Rangel, Siegfried Mureşan, Sandra Kalniete, Jerzy Buzek, Andrius Kubilius, Radosław Sikorski, Vangelis Meimarakis, Traian Băsescu, Andrzej Halicki, Daniel Caspary, Isabel Wiseler‑Lima, Antonio López‑Istúriz White, Peter van Dalen, Vladimír Bilčík, Gheorghe‑Vlad Nistor, Andrey Kovatchev, David Lega, Alexander Alexandrov Yordanov, Miriam Lexmann, Anna‑Michelle Asimakopoulou, Eugen Tomac, Tomasz Frankowski, Liudas Mažylis, Ewa Kopacz, Janina Ochojska, Michaela Šojdrová, Aušra Maldeikienė, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Milan Zver, Stelios Kympouropoulos, Inese Vaidere, Ioan‑Rareş Bogdan, Vasile Blaga, Daniel Buda, Cristian‑Silviu Buşoi, Gheorghe Falcă, Mircea‑Gheorghe Hava, Marian‑Jean Marinescu, Dan‑Ştefan Motreanu, Sunčana Glavak, Arba Kokalari
on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0197/2022

Procedure : 2022/2560(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B9-0200/2022

B9‑0200/2022

European Parliament resolution on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022, including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation

(2022/2560(RSP))

The European Parliament,

 having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia and Ukraine, and in particular that of 16 December 2021 on the situation at the Ukrainian border and in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine[1],

 having regard to the statements on Ukraine by the European Parliament’s leaders of 16 and 24 February 2022,

 having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU of 24 February 2022 on the invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation,

 having regard to the statements by the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission of 24 February 2022 on Russia’s unprecedented and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine,

 having regard to the recent statements by the President of Ukraine and the President of the Commission on the situation in Ukraine,

 having regard to the G7 statement of 24 February 2022,

 having regard to the Versailles Declaration of 11 March 2022,

 having regard to the conclusions of the European Council summit of 24 and 25 March 2022,

 having regard to the statements of by the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission on the atrocities discovered primarily in the liberated north-western suburbs of Kyiv, in particular Bucha and Irpin,

 having regard to the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances of 1994,

 having regard to the Nuremberg principles developed by the International Law Commission of the United Nations, which determine what constitutes a war crime,

 having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 17 July 1998,

 having regard to the European Council conclusions of 24 February 2022,

 having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

 having regard to the Helsinki Final Act of 1 August 1975 and subsequent documents,

 having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, in line with the UN Charter and the principles of international law, all states enjoy equal sovereignty and shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state;

B. whereas on 21 February 2022, the Russian Federation unilaterally recognised the independence of territories controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which effectively derailed the Minsk Agreements;

C. whereas the Russian Federation launched an unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022;

D. whereas the military aggression against Ukraine was also launched from the illegally occupied territory of Crimea and the breakaway territories in Lugansk and Donetsk, as well as air and ground bases in Belarus, to conduct the ground offensive, missile attacks and air campaign against Ukraine;

E. whereas Ukraine has so far shown unprecedented levels of resistance and resilience and has denied Russia the ability to fulfil its initial objective for the war of occupying the entire country;

F. whereas the EU has established an effective mechanism to deliver arms from its Member States to Ukraine;

G. whereas the EU has adopted four packages of sanctions against the Russian Federation in response to its aggression and invasion; whereas these sanctions include individual sanctions, financial measures, economic sanctions, restrictions on media, diplomatic measures and restrictions on relations with the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; whereas existing loopholes in economic sanctions are undermining the effectiveness of sanctions and helping Russia to finance its invasion of Ukraine; whereas contracts concluded prior to the entry into force of the sanctions may still be fulfilled;

H. whereas in 2020 alone, EU Member States sent over 64 billion euro in payments for fossil fuels to Russia; whereas today, the EU is paying over 600 million euro per day to Russia for the delivery of fossil fuels, which per year accounts for up to 220 billion euro, or the equivalent of three times Russia’s annual defence budget;

I. whereas the banning of fossil fuel imports from Russia would have an impact on EU economic growth, which would correspond to estimated losses of less than 3 % of GDP, while the potential losses to the Russian economy over the same period would amount to 30 % of GDP and be instrumental in stopping the Russian aggression;

J. whereas on 10 March 2022, the European Council noted that Ukraine had submitted its application to become a member of the European Union, concluded that the Council had acted swiftly and invited the Commission to submit its opinion on this application in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Treaties; whereas the European Council concluded that, pending this and without delay, the EU would further strengthen its bond and partnership to support Ukraine in pursuing its European path and emphasised that Ukraine belongs to our European family;

K. whereas there are mounting reports of Russian atrocities committed against the civilian population, including executions, rape, abductions and kidnappings; whereas in the liberated towns of Bucha and Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv, mass graves have been discovered, including bodies of civilians killed at close range with their hands tied behind their backs;

L. whereas the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has opened a Court investigation into the situation in Ukraine based on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity;

M. whereas over 4 million people have left Ukraine since the beginning of the war, seeking refuge mainly in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the Republic of Moldova; whereas there are almost 6.5 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine;

N. whereas almost 500 international companies and corporations have chosen to suspend their operations in Russia or completely withdraw from the Russian market; whereas some of those that initially decided to stay faced consumer boycotts, which then forced them to reverse their decisions;

1. Reiterates its condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the Russian Federation’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against and invasion of Ukraine, as well as the involvement of Belarus in this aggression;

2. Demands that the Russian Federation immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine, unconditionally withdraw all military and paramilitary forces and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders;

3. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the massacre of civilians committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Irpin and other cities; demands that those responsible face justice; calls for an independent international investigation;

4. Underlines that the military aggression and invasion constitute a serious violation of international law, in particular the UN Charter, and calls on the Russian Federation to return to fulfilling the responsibilities of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in maintaining peace and security and to respecting its commitments under the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe and the Budapest Memorandum; considers the Russian invasion of Ukraine an attack not only against a sovereign country, but also against the principles and mechanism of cooperation and security in Europe and the rules-based international order, as set out by the UN Charter;

5. Reiterates that deliveries of weapons must continue and be stepped up to allow Ukraine to effectively defend itself; welcomes the effective use of the European Peace Facility in this regard; calls on the Member States to increase the facility’s budget;

6. Calls for the establishment of safe humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians fleeing bombardments and for the boosting of the EU’s humanitarian aid networks in Ukraine (including fuel, food, medicines, drinkable water supply, energy generators and mobile campuses); suggests that the Commission introduce peer-to-peer aid schemes for Ukraine in order to increase assistance effectiveness;

7. Calls for the opening of green land corridors to bring into Ukraine anything needed to increase agricultural production (e.g. pesticides and fertilisers) and to bring out of Ukraine all agricultural products that can still be exported;

8. Calls for an immediate embargo on Russian oil, coal and nuclear fuel; reiterates its call for a gas embargo as soon as possible; calls for the EU to immediately work on eliminating its dependency on Russian fossil fuels; reiterates that the EU must not be complicit in financing the Russian war; calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps to mitigate any potential damage to the European economy resulting from the embargo;

9. Recalls that Russian banks and financial institutions involved in the oil, coal and gas trade should be barred from the SWIFT system once an embargo is implemented;

10. Demands that sanctions on Belarus need to mirror those introduced against Russia in order to close any loopholes allowing Putin to use Lukashenka’s aid to circumvent sanctions;

11. Demands the introduction of secondary sanctions on all entities in the EU and third countries that aid the Russian and Belarussian regimes in circumventing sanctions;

12. Calls for the prohibition of road freight transport from and to the territories of Russia and Belarus and a ban on Russian vessels entering EU ports to be included in the new package of sanctions; suggests extending the export ban to deliveries that were contracted prior to the entry into force of the sanctions, but which have not yet been fully completed;

13. Reiterates its opinion that sanctions should only be lifted when the last soldier of the occupying Russian and Russian-backed forces has left Ukrainian territory and once an agreement has been concluded with the constitutional Ukrainian Government;

14. Underlines that the EU’s reaction and its political engagement must rise to the hostile challenge and match the effort of our like-minded Ukrainian partners, who are fighting and sacrificing for European values and principles, which stretch beyond the present membership of the EU;

15. Welcomes the Versailles Declaration of the European Council, which states that Ukraine is a member of our European family; reiterates that following Ukraine’s official submission of its EU Membership application, the EU institutions should work towards granting Ukraine candidate status immediately, as a clear political signal of our commitment and in order to also avoid the legitimate aspirations of Ukraine and its citizens falling victim to the hostile Russian demands that currently confront them; reiterates furthermore that the institutions should work towards Ukraine’s accelerated integration into the single market, according to the formula ‘everything but institutions’ and along the lines of the Association Agreement;

16. Calls for work to start on a Marshall Plan-like fund to rebuild Ukraine after the war, launch a massive investment programme and unleash its growth potential; considers that the fund should be generous and financed inter alia by the EU, its Member States, donors’ contributions and compensation by Russia for war damages, including those Russian assets confiscated as a result of sanctions in accordance with international law;

17. Reiterates its previous calls to eliminate energy dependence on Russian fossil fuels by diversifying energy sources, including expanding liquefied natural gas terminals and supply routes, unbundling gas storage and increasing energy efficiency and the speed of the clean energy transition; calls for work to be started on creating a gas union, based on common purchases of gas by Member States;

18. Expresses its outrage about the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the indiscriminate shelling of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, ambulances, schools, kindergartens and shelters, and at the loss of life and human suffering caused by the Russian aggression;

19. Calls for the EU institutions to take all necessary actions in international institutions and proceedings and at the International Criminal Court or other appropriate international tribunals or courts to legally qualify the actions of Putin and Lukashenka as war crimes and crimes against humanity, and actively participate in their investigation and prosecution;

20. Calls for a special UN tribunal for the crimes in Ukraine to be set up; considers that it would be pertinent to take advantage of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to assist in any international investigations into war crimes committed in Ukraine;

21. Supports the Ukrainian authorities’ call for the UN Security Council to immediately take measures to demilitarise the Exclusion Zone of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to immediately take full control of the site of the nuclear power plant to eliminate the risk of a repetition of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster;

22. Calls on the Member States to expel Russian ambassadors from their countries and to minimise Russian diplomatic presence as much as possible;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine and the President, Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation.

 

Last updated: 5 April 2022
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