Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 - Strasbourg

EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (debate)

  President. – The next item is the debate on the European Council and Commission statements on EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (2022/2518(RSP)).

Dear Colleagues, as announced at the beginning of this part-session, our agenda of this week is dominated by the situation in Ukraine.

Today, we are starting our day with the most pressing debate on EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine amidst intense international diplomatic exchanges to de-escalate the situation.

I am pleased to welcome the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles, who are with us to discuss the latest developments on the ground in the wider context of European security and EU-Russia relations. Welcome to the plenary.

On behalf of the European Parliament, we have repeatedly expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they continue to face the uncertainty of the past weeks and fear of Russian military aggression. What we are witnessing here is also a threat to peace in Europe.

I want to recall that, in September last year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that called for containing Russia’s influence in the EU and its Eastern Neighbourhood and, in December last year, we also adopted a resolution where we criticised the actions of the Russian authorities and underlined our preparedness to ‘agree swiftly on further joint action’, including sanctions.

Today, just after this debate, we will vote on granting EUR 1.2 billion of ‘macro—financial assistance to Ukraine’. I would like to thank the European Commission for this timely proposal to support Ukraine’s financial stability and resilience in the current difficult circumstances.

Also later today, the Conference of Presidents will discuss the declaration on the situation in Ukraine.

I would like to stress that, while we urge for a de-escalation of the current tension between Ukraine and Russia, this Parliament stands ready to support swift, forceful and concrete action, in coordination with other European institutions. The Union’s unity and close cooperation with our partners are key for the European Union to play a strong role on the international stage and to contribute to peace and security. We would be interested to know how lessons learned from the current situation will also be reflected in the works on the future Strategic Compass for the EU.

Finally, I would like to thank you, President Michel, President von den Leyen and High Representative Borrell, for your engagement in the intense consultation on identifying ways to address the situation at the EU’s eastern borders and your efforts to uphold fundamental principles of the existing European security architecture.

Without further delay, I would like to give the floor to President of the European Council, Charles Michel, for your statement.