Fuldstændigt Forhandlingsreferat

Tirsdag den 17. januar 2023 - Strasbourg

15. EU's reaktion på det forfærdelige angreb på civile i Dnipro: skærpelse af sanktionerne mod Putins regime og militær støtte til Ukraine (forhandling)

  Puhemies. – Esityslistalla on seuraavana neuvoston ja komission julkilausumat EU:n vastauksesta siviileihin kohdistettuun järkyttävään iskuun Dniprossa: Putinin hallintoa vastaan asetettujen pakotteiden ja Ukrainalle annettavan sotilaallisen tuen vahvistamisesta (2023/2511(RSP)).

  Jessika Roswall, President-in-Office of the Council. – Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, Commissioner, we highly appreciate the European Parliament’s unwavering support to Ukraine and its heroic fight against the Russian aggression.

Russia continues to show its inhumane face and applies its brutal missile terror. Such actions constitute war crimes and must stop immediately. We strongly condemn Russia’s continued strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, including energy infrastructure. Russia is weaponising this winter by leaving civilians without electricity and water in winter temperatures. Ukrainian citizens cannot even find refuge in their homes when Russia is also hitting residential buildings with missiles – like the attack on the residential building in Dnipro on 14 January.

As my Prime Minister stated, intentional attacks against civilians constitute war crimes, and those responsible will be held to account. The EU will continue supporting Ukraine and its people, and the Presidency will give priority to all measures to ensure accountability for the violations of international law and war crimes committed in Ukraine. In this regard, the EU strongly supports the investigation by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and is looking at all options at their disposal.

The bravery and the resilience of the Ukrainian defenders is beyond praise. They have withstood almost a year of brutal, full scale invasion by the Russian army. Ukraine has been suffering since the beginning of the Russian war – that is since 2014. This is the longest war that Europe has seen in modern history. Honourable Members, on 20 January, the Ukraine Defence Contact Group will meet at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss the next steps in the military assistance that is being provided to Ukraine by its partners. The EU Member States continue to contribute to a massive delivery of military equipment to Ukraine. with the help of the European Peace Facility. The total amount committed under the EPF is EUR 3.1 billion. This is this allow us to cover procurement costs as well as repair and maintenance for the equipment already delivered.

Last November we launched the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine, which is delivering good results. Our objective is the training of 15 000 Ukrainian military personnel this winter, and we are on track. The majority of the Member States are actively taking part in this mission. Our goal is to train, by the end of March 2023, around 10 000 Ukrainian soldiers.

As you know, in response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, the EU has imposed so far nine far—reaching and hard—hitting sanctions packages in close coordination with partners and allies. Our sanctions have already sent Russia’s economy into deep recession, affecting the ability of Russia to finance its war. As our leaders have stated on several occasions, the EU remains ready to move quickly with further restrictive measures in addition to those already adopted, if developments on the ground justify this. Nothing is off the table.

Following the implementation of the EU ban on Russian crude oil and G7 price gap at the beginning of December, Russia is starting to feel the impact. The volume of crude exports has fallen and the price has declined, substantially from the peak of 2022. The long term effect of sanctions on the Russian economy will likely be even stronger and will further weaken the Russian economy and its military capabilities.

The European Council invites the Commission to present options in line with the EU and international law, enabling the use of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction. Discussions among the Member States in this complex matter are ongoing. As the Presidency, we are determined to take this work forward.

  Didier Reynders, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, dear Minister, honourable Members, after almost a year into this brutal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, we keep being appalled by the Russian heinous attacks on civilians and critical civilian infrastructure. In Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Izyum and many other places, mass graves have been discovered after the Ukrainian army liberated these Ukrainian territories.

In recent months, we have seen an intensification of Russian air strikes against energy and water infrastructure, hitting also residential buildings. The latest horrifying example of such attacks is Dnipro city, where on 14 January the Russian military conducted an attack which hit a multi-storey residential building in an exclusively residential area where there were no Ukrainian military objects. This took 40 innocent civilian lives, among them also children. At least 25 people are still missing, so the death toll is likely to increase. This is one of many attacks that are potential war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine since the beginning of this senseless war. Russia must stop. It is why the European Commission is determined to continue supporting Ukraine.

Today, we disbursed the first EUR 3 billion of the EUR 18 billion macro—financial support agreed last December. Let me recall that the aim of this emergency assistance is to provide short-term financial relief, financing Ukraine’s immediate needs, rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and initial support towards sustainable post-war reconstruction, with a view to supporting Ukraine on its path towards European integration.

We will not rest until Russia withdraws its forces from Ukraine and until justice will be served. Russia’s barbaric actions only strengthen our resolve to ensure accountability and to support Ukraine and its people. We will work to hold all Russian decision makers accountable for their gross violations of international law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine.

The European Council has invited the Commission, the European External Action Service and the Council to take work forward on accountability, in accordance with EU law and international law. The prosecution of the crime of aggression is of concern to the international community as a whole. The European Union actively supports Ukraine’s efforts on accountability through our assistance through the International Criminal Court and its investigations, assistance to the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, as well as assistance to national investigations by EU Member States through Eurojust coordination.

More concretely, the European Union is funding further development of the War Crimes Platform established by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office. The platform allows the general public to upload digital evidence of alleged core international crimes. Experts from the EU advisory mission in Ukraine are providing strategic advice, operational assistance and training in areas such as crime scene and forensic investigations, drafting of legislation and indictments, collection and preservation of evidence. Finally, Eurojust supports a Joint Investigation Team between several EU Member States in Ukraine. The JIT is one of the most advanced tools to facilitate international coordination on national investigations of core international crimes committed in Ukraine.

In June 2022, Eurojust’s mandate was strengthened upon a proposal from the Commission to enable the agency to preserve, store and analyse evidence relating to international crimes. Eurojust has therefore been working on the implementation of this new database, which allows data to be stored safely and to be analysed in an advanced manner. These efforts need to be sustained.

Ensuring accountability in Ukraine will be a lengthy process. I want to commend the resolve of Ukrainian people. We continue to support Ukraine as long as it takes. I am sure that you have taken the same commitment and of course we will listen carefully to your proposals and suggestions. But again, we will continue to support Ukraine with military support, financial support and humanitarian support, but also going forward to be sure it is possible to bring to justice those responsible for a lot of war crimes and crimes against humanity and a crime of aggression.

  Puhemies. – Huomaan, että sekä neuvoston että komssion edustajat ovat jo viitanneet seuraavaankin erittäin tärkeään keskusteluun, joka koskee vastuuta tehdyistä rikoksista. Siirrymme keskusteluun.

  Michael Gahler, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, dear colleagues, the criminal and, in words and deeds, utterly fascist Putin regime has committed yet another in a series of war crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine. I have been several times in Dnipro and I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this vicious attack. My latest figures – and you are right, Commissioner, the figures are likely to increase – but the latest I just got from Kyiv is that there are 44 killed, including five children, and many injured and many missing still. It will not be forgotten and it will not be forgiven.

I call on the Commission and the Council to strengthen the sanctions regime against this criminal regime. There is ample opportunity to increase it and to also double-check whether the existing ones are really followed. I am also very much in favour of extending the lists of personal sanctions, and we should definitely have a look at this Navalny list, these 6 000 persons – I think they are not there by accident and I think they are all profiteers of the regime. And I think we need not prove that every individual is personally involved in the war crimes.

But if there are hesitations – especially if we cannot seize the assets of these persons – what we can do is deny them visas. There is no right, there is no legal obligation for any of our countries to issue a visa to a third-country national. And when we have these persons that are not then able to enter our countries to enjoy the property or the yachts or whatever they have got here, that amounts de facto to an expropriation. And I really think we should embark on this approach and thereby contribute to the pressure that is exercised against the profiteers of this regime.

  Tonino Picula, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, Mr Commissioner, the recent attack against civilians in Dnipro is a stark reminder that the European Union must take decisive action in response. Following that attack, the number of civilian victims surpassed 7 000, and we are still missing the data on missing persons.

It’s good that we have this discussion today, and it will be even better if the next package strengthening sanctions against the Putin regime is adopted as soon as possible. I wish mainly to stress how important it is that the already adopted sanctions are being implemented, so we do not see, for example, the confiscated yachts of Russian oligarchs leaving the EU waters in the middle of the night.

Ahead of the Ukraine Contact Group meeting in Rammstein at the end of this week, our response must also be that increased military support is needed. We must show our solidarity with Ukraine again and provide them with all the resources they need to protect their people and defend themselves against the aggressors.

  Guy Verhofstadt, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Madam President, there is a letter signed by nearly 120 colleagues of Parliament yesterday and today, with a message to the Council and to the Commission after the Dnipro massacre to say that sanctions have to be strengthened as fast as possible.

You have to stop to think that with the progressive packages of sanctions, as we are doing already now for ten months, that we’re going to have success. The Council is saying it is going well with the sanctions. For me, the sanctions will only have a positive result when the Putin regime stops what is happening in Dnipro – that is a positive result of sanctions. Therefore, we don’t need progressive packages, as we have seen. I said it already to your colleague, Mr Borrell, nearly ten months ago: with a dictator, with an authoritarian regime, if do you do a package of sanctions they adapt themselves and everything goes on. So we are now preparing a tenth package. In total – as Mr Gahler has said – of the 6 700 people identified as the backbone of the Putin regime by the Navalny Foundation, the EU as the External Action Service – Mr Borrell and the whole Commission – has as yet been capable to issue personal sanctions to 1 400 of them, of the 6 700. And that list has existed for nearly ten months already and is on the table of the EEAS for ten months already.

The second thing is secondary sanctions. There are still companies and individuals making deals and doing business in Russia. I ask you, as fast as possible, to declare secondary sanctions on this, because that’s the only possibility to stop it.

The last point is the 320 billion that is frozen in Russian banks. Why not transfer that money directly? Russia is a terrorist state. So they do not need to have the reserves of their Russian central bank. That money could be mobilised immediately, even for buying arms.

Finally – sorry but I’m speaking for 112 colleagues so you have to give me some additional room to do so – on arms, it’s clear what we need now. If Europe wants to do something positive on this, well then it’s long—range missiles next to tanks – then it is long—range missiles so that tragedies like Dnipro can no longer happen.

  President. – Yes, of course, some seem to have more rights than others in this House, but we will continue. It’s a very important topic.

  Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, colleagues, Commissioner, in a yellow kitchen, an apple bowl sits on the dining table and a father is waiting for his family to return – a picture that could be from any house, even yours or mine. Except that this is not a regular kitchen anymore; it belongs to the family of Mykhailo Koronevsky. It is now buried under the rubble of a Dnipro apartment block. A Russian missile has hit it.

The screams of shocked people echo from under the rubble. Firefighters in despair dig in tonnes of debris with their bare hands to save the few still alive. These devastating pictures depict man-made atrocity made by one man and his country. Putin brands himself as a defender of Orthodox Christian values. Yet Putin, in the most cynical terrorist attack, destroyed the lives of over 40 civilians on Orthodox New Year, in a city where the majority still speaks Russian.

This cowardly attack can never be forgotten. I want to ask those still insisting that sending tanks to Ukraine will escalate the war – escalate to where? What red line has Russia not yet crossed? Russia has committed unspoken evils and reached the bottom of civilisation. This regime only understands the language of unity and force. It interprets a compromise as a weakness. We need to deprive Russia of everything it can use to wage the war, and we must give Ukraine everything it needs to defeat this regime. Slava Ukraini!

  Susanna Ceccardi, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, proprio oggi sulla stampa italiana arriva finalmente la notizia dell'archiviazione richiesta dai giudici di Milano rispetto all'inchiesta sui fondi russi alla Lega.

Noi lo abbiamo sempre sostenuto: la Lega, Matteo Salvini non hanno mai visto un rublo, ma qui in Europa c'era qualcuno a sinistra che voleva per forza trovare gli amici dei russi, voleva accusarci di corruzione internazionale, quando invece la corruzione ce l'aveva in casa.

Qualcuno dovrebbe chiedere scusa e sono felice che invece la posizione della Lega in questi anni sia sempre stata fermamente a favore del blocco occidentale per sostenere il popolo ucraino, ingiustamente vittima di un'invasione militare. Ed è questa la posizione del governo italiano.

Sono fiera, in questo senso, che il nuovo governo di centrodestra abbia dato un segnale chiarissimo, promuovendo il gruppo di lavoro "emergenza elettrica Ucraina", che ha già fatto avere 53 tonnellate di materiale per ricostruire la rete elettrica del paese, fondamentale per garantire la sopravvivenza degli ucraini.

Concordiamo con l'istituzione del Tribunale speciale per i crimini commessi dallo schieramento russo, perché il massacro dei civili, di donne e di bambini deve sempre trovare giustizia, nella speranza che in questo 2023 si arrivi presto a un accordo di pace.

  Veronika Vrecionová, za skupinu ECR. – Paní předsedající, chtěla bych nejprve vyjádřit upřímnou soustrast všem rodinám, které přišly o své milované kvůli ruskému raketovému útoku na obytný dům v Dnipru.

Znovu se ukazuje, že Rusko neútočí na vojenské cíle, ale jde jim o zabíjení civilního obyvatelstva, šíření strachu se snahou vyvolat další migrační vlnu směrem do Evropy. Ze stejného důvodu čelí Ukrajina stále intenzivnímu bombardování energetické infrastruktury. Nedělejme si iluzi, že ruské volání po míru je upřímné. Jedinou ruskou snahou je zničit Ukrajinu a vyděsit demokratický svět. Musíme pokračovat v naší podpoře jak vojenskými dodávkami dalších zbraní, tak finanční asistencí. Jenom takto můžeme udržet Rusko a pomoci Ukrajině.

  Andrius Kubilius (PPE). – Madam President, dear colleagues, what we witnessed in Dnipro is pure and simple state terrorism. This terrorist attack reminded me of another terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, when Al-Qaeda attacked and destroyed the Twin Towers. I do not see any difference between those terrorist attacks and the aims of terrorists. I see only a big difference in how the West was and is reacting. In my view, the difference comes from the simple fact that al-Qaeda attacked big cities of the West while, for the time being, Putin – as a terrorist – is attacking only Ukrainian cities.

Let’s not make a strategic mistake. It’s only a question of time until Kremlin terrorism will come to our cities. You cannot stop such terrorism just with statements of condemnation or statements of solidarity with the victims. I do not expect that NATO will be involved in the fight against this sort of terrorism like it was after the al-Qaeda attack. But I hope and expect that the EU in the end will manage at least to put the Wagner Group and other Russian military groups on the EU terrorist list, as was done with al-Qaeda. The Dnipro tragedy brings an additional argument that this cannot be delayed anymore.

  Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D). – Voorzitter, meneer de commissaris, de beelden van de aanvallen in Dnipro zijn het meest tragische bewijs van de meedogenloosheid van de oorlog die Poetin voert tegen Oekraïne en zijn bevolking. Ik ben het eens met het pleidooi van Guy Verhofstadt over de sancties. Laat me er toch nog eentje aan toevoegen, want de sancties zijn er vandaag, ze werken, maar ze zijn niet voldoende. Het is onbegrijpelijk en onaanvaardbaar dat de diamant al négen sanctiepakketten de dans ontspringt! De handel in ruwe diamant blijft tot op vandaag een belangrijke bron van inkomsten voor het Russische oorlogsapparaat – jaarlijks goed voor 4 miljard USD.

Het is tijd om die op het tiende sanctiepakket in te zetten, tegen Alrosa, de belangrijkste speler in de Russische diamant: de CEO op de sanctielijst en een volledig invoerverbod voor alle vormen van Russische diamant. En ga ook aan tafel zitten met de G7-landen om ervoor te zorgen dat dat pakket wereldwijd kan worden ingevoerd.

Als Antwerpse ben ik bijzonder trots op de rijke geschiedenis van de diamant in mijn stad en ik wil dat die in de toekomst ook een rol te spelen heeft. Maar dan wel propere diamant, en dus geen bloeddiamant uit Rusland.

  Nathalie Loiseau (Renew). – Madame la Présidente, Dnipro, au moins 40 morts, tous civils, dont au moins cinq enfants. Un crime de guerre. Un de plus ? Un de trop. Ce n’est pas la première fois que la Russie vise sciemment les civils en Ukraine. Irpin, Boutcha, Kramatorsk et tant d’autres horreurs qui s’égrènent depuis presque un an ne laissent pas de doute: la Russie veut terroriser la population, la pousser à fuir ou à se décourager.

Ce n’est pas une surprise pour ceux qui ont vu la Russie de Vladimir Poutine raser Grozny ou massacrer les civils à Alep. Et reconnaissons-le, si la Russie est pleinement coupable, nous n’avons pas suffisamment réagi, année après année, aux crimes de guerre de la Russie. Cette fois-ci, il faut que ce crime de guerre soit le crime de trop. Il doit y avoir un avant et un après Dnipro.

Nous devons sans attendre intensifier notre aide militaire à l’Ukraine, lui fournir plus de défense aérienne, plus de chars, sans retard, sans arguties absurdes. Nous devons aussi accentuer la pression sur la Russie. Prendre de nouvelles sanctions, certainement, mais aussi veiller sans relâche à la bonne application des sanctions existantes et à la lutte contre leur contournement. Est-il vrai que le gaz russe est renommé gaz azéri et importé en Europe? Comment se fait-il que RT France ait recommencé à émettre depuis la banlieue de Paris et que des élus de cette assemblée y donnent des interviews? Et il faudra juger les responsables de ces atrocités, du bas jusqu’au plus haut de la chaîne hiérarchique russe. Nous le devons à la mémoire des victimes de Dnipro.

  Adam Bielan (ECR). – Madam President, dear Commissioner, Russia’s brutal actions since 2014 are an absolute violation of international law. Mr Putin’s inhuman disrespect for human lives requires more than strong declarations condemning his attacks in Ukraine. The EU and its Member States must coordinate faster and better on the objectives that we, as a Union, want to achieve: that is, free Ukraine from the Russian oppressor and support our ally with all the necessary means at our disposal.

How many more attacks must Ukraine endure to allow some Member States to update their obsolete defence doctrines? Central and Eastern Europe, together with a few other Member States, the UK and the US, cannot support alone the heroic Ukrainian people and army against the Russian threat on behalf of our common values. We need a coordinated answer to put an end to Russia’s aggression. And this is why I call for the urgent delivery of the promised heavy weaponry, including armoured vehicles to Ukraine.

  Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, chers collègues, Maria Lebed avait quinze ans et la vie devant elle. Elle habitait un paisible quartier de Dnipro sans le moindre objectif militaire à proximité. Elle est morte ce samedi dans l’infâme bombardement de Dnipro. Pourquoi? Parce que Poutine et ses sbires sont des terroristes et font de leur guerre une guerre de terreur. Les civils, pour eux, sont des cibles, en Ukraine comme hier en Tchétchénie ou en Syrie.

Chers collègues, depuis bientôt un an, les Ukrainiens résistent au fascisme et nous les soutenons dans cette lutte qui est aussi la nôtre. Car oui, l’Union européenne est bien la cible du régime russe. Mais notre soutien est-il à la hauteur du péril et des enjeux? Pourquoi ces tergiversations à chaque étape? Pourquoi avoir hésité si longtemps à fournir la si nécessaire défense antiaérienne réclamée par Kiev depuis le 24 février 2022? Pourquoi hésiter autant aujourd’hui sur l’envoi de tanks? Il y a en Europe des centaines de chars Leopard 2 qui pourraient changer la donne sur le terrain: 376 en Allemagne, 353 en Grèce, 327 en Espagne, 247 en Pologne, 200 en Finlande. Vous savez comme moi que nous finirons par en livrer. Alors pourquoi attendre? Chaque jour de perdu se compte en vies humaines en Ukraine. Nous avons dit que la défaite de Poutine était notre objectif stratégique, que c’était notre intérêt vital. Alors il est temps, enfin, d’agir en conséquence.

Pyynnöstä myönnettävät puheenvuorot

  Александър Александров Йорданов (PPE). – Г-жо Председател, отговорът на нашия Съюз на атаката в Днипро трябва да бъде бърз и категоричен. Ние се забавихме с години да отговорим твърдо на Русия и това е причината днес за трагедията в Украйна.

Украйна трябва да получи оръжия, с които не само да възпира агресорите на своята територия, не само да се отбранява, но и да поразява цели на руска територия. Не само в спорта, но и във време на война нападението е най-добрата защита. Време е и руснаците да изпитат ужаса на войната. А санкциите, които въвеждаме, трябва да се засилват, но и да се прилагат ефективно от държавите членки.

  Juozas Olekas (S&D). – Gerbiama Pirmininke, gerbiamas Komisijos nary, gerbiama Tarybos atstove. Iš tikrųjų, signalas iš Dnipro mums labai aiškus – Putino režimas su pakalikais žiauriai talžo civilius žmones. Lietuvoje mes prisimename sausio tryliktąją prieš 32 metus – sovietinis režimas žudė mūsų vyrus ir moteris. Dabar, po 32 metų, Putino režimas žudo civilius Ukrainoje. Ne vienas sakėme, signalas – sustiprinti ypatingai sankcijas, kad neliktų jokių skylių, kad Putino režimas galėtų pasinaudoti ekonomine nauda iš prekybos su Europos Sąjunga. Bet ne tik sankcijos. Mums reikia ne tik apginti Ukrainos dangų, bet reikia išvaduoti Ukrainos žemę nuo agresorių. Mes turime pasiųsti tų priemonių, kurios šiandien yra reikalingos, ar tai būtų sunkieji tankai, ar kita šarvuota technika, ar artilerija. Mieli mano kolegos, aukos Dnipre mus dar kartais įpareigoja veikti greitai ir griežtai. Slava Ukraini.

  Petras Auštrevičius (Renew). – Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine have become an integral part of Russia’s image, a way of life and at the same time a dead end.

Meanwhile, I had hoped that we in the European Union had realised that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a war against us all. This aggressor must be defeated.

Therefore, when I hear the Austrian foreign minister calling for a sense of proportion when dealing with Russia, I invite him, Austrian minister, to wake up from his lethargy and look at the world with a sense of reality. The people of Ukraine will not pardon our indecisiveness and ignorance. Let us act now. Let us deliver weapons, as much as possible.

  Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D). – Señora presidenta, comisario Reynders, efectivamente, un año ya desde la brutal guerra de agresión que llamamos la guerra de Putin contra Ucrania, que ha tenido consecuencias sísmicas sobre la vecindad europea en su conjunto desde el punto de vista social y económico, desde el punto de vista energético, desde el punto de vista humanitario, pero también desde el punto de vista geoestratégico, que ha conducido a un ejercicio de unidad por el que Rusia ha sido castigada políticamente. Se dice poco que ha sido expulsada del Consejo de Europa. Es la primera vez que esto sucede en una organización internacional que tenía cuarenta y siete Estados miembros y ahora tiene cuarenta y seis; Rusia, fuera.

Pero ha habido sanciones económicas contundentes, con el apoyo de los procedimientos de urgencia del Parlamento Europeo, y sanciones jurídicas también, con el apoyo de este Parlamento Europeo; procedimiento de urgencia: la reforma de Eurojust para que colabore con la Fiscalía Penal Internacional y con los equipos conjuntos de investigación que aseguren que no habrá ninguna impunidad para los criminales de guerra.

Pero para ello hacen falta dos condiciones. La primera, que Putin no se salga con la suya, es decir, que salga derrotado de esta guerra de agresión. La segunda, que mantengamos la unidad hasta que, efectivamente, traigamos al banquillo de la justicia penal, en alguno de sus formatos, a los criminales de guerra que están perpetrando crímenes de agresión y crímenes contra la humanidad en territorio ucraniano.

  Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Madam President, Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Mariupol and now Dnipro – Russia is a state terrorist and the Wagner Group are terrorists as well. And it is time that we accept, not just in this Parliament but across the entire European Union, that we are dealing with an aggressor of appalling brutality and sanctions have to be brought forward swiftly and rapidly.

We are in a situation where we are still taking kid gloves to Putin and his cronies when it comes to sanctions. Last year, when we called for gas to be sanctioned in this House, we were told we couldn’t live without Russian gas. The reason we don’t have Russian gas now is because Putin turned the tap off, not because we said no. That’s the way we are, unfortunately, in the European Union.

So, we now have to accept that we have to bring forward sanctions that have a material impact on the regime that surrounds President Putin. So I call for visas to be curtailed – all of the 6 700 on the Navalny list. We have to seize every asset that we can across the entire globe, we have to target the bank reserves – the 300 billion bank reserves – because we owe it to the mangled bodies that are buried deep in the apartment basements of Dnipro as we speak here.

  Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D). – Señora presidenta, efectivamente, tenemos que avanzar en el terreno de las sanciones y avanzar en el terreno de la ayuda militar a Ucrania.

En el primero de los campos, desde luego, la lista Navalni en su integridad, como han dicho varios colegas. Podríamos incluso ir más allá: pensemos en todos los miembros de los partidos políticos que integran el régimen de Putin, a los que se les podría, por lo menos, negar el visado para viajar a Europa.

Y, por supuesto, la cuestión del armamento. Recuerdo que, hace casi un año cuando empezó la guerra, a las pocas semanas de la agresión, varios empezamos a decir en esta Cámara que había que dar tanques y aviones de combate a Ucrania, y se nos dijo que no era posible porque eso iba a requerir varios meses de formación del ejército ucraniano para que pudiera utilizar este armamento.

Pues muy bien, aquí estamos casi un año después. ¿Cuánto tiempo podríamos haber ganado si hubiéramos tomado esas decisiones entonces? Por favor, no las demoremos más ahora.

(Pyynnöstä myönnettävät puheenvuorot päättyvät)

  Didier Reynders, membre de la Commission. – Madame la Présidente, Madame la Ministre, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, nous partageons la même réaction face à l’horreur des attaques qui ont été perpétrées par la Russie en Ukraine. Bien entendu au cours de ce débat, et je vous en remercie, nous avons pu prendre note du soutien indéfectible qui est le vôtre à l’Ukraine comme de la lettre de plus de 100 parlementaires et des propositions concrètes en matière de sanctions, y compris dans le secteur du diamant.

La Commission est déterminée à poursuivre son action en faveur de l’Ukraine, en maintenant l’unité des États membres, l’unité de l’Union. Cela passe par des sanctions, bien sûr. Cela passe aussi par un soutien militaire, économique, politique et humanitaire.

La Commission n’a pas hésité à proposer rapidement une série de sanctions fortes, y compris dans des secteurs comme celui de l’énergie, en connaissant le prix que ces sanctions pouvaient avoir pour nos économies. Nous devons continuer à travailler dans ce sens, mais nous devons aussi mettre en œuvre de la manière la plus efficace possible les sanctions déjà décidées.

Nous avons gelé à ce jour plus de 21 milliards d’euros des personnes et entités figurant sur les listes de sanctions – de manière inégale à travers l’Union européenne, mais il faut continuer à intensifier l’action dans chacun des États membres. Nous avons aussi, avec des partenaires internationaux, immobilisé les réserves de la Banque centrale de Russie. Il faut poursuivre la mise en œuvre de ces sanctions à travers, je le disais, toute l’Union, mais aussi lutter contre leur contournement. Étendre la liste est une chose, rendre efficaces les sanctions décidées en est une autre. C’est la raison pour laquelle, d’ailleurs, nous avons déjà obtenu l’accord du Parlement et du Conseil pour étendre la liste des eurocrimes à tout contournement ou tentative de contournement de toutes les sanctions européennes, ce qui nous permettrait d’obtenir des condamnations en justice et d’obtenir des confiscations, et de ne plus avoir simplement les gels comme ils ont été décidés jusqu’à présent.

Nous poursuivrons aussi, je l’ai dit tout à l’heure, notre action pour lutter contre l’impunité. Nous avons travaillé avec les autorités ukrainiennes, avec la Cour pénale internationale, avec quatorze États membres qui ont déjà lancé des enquêtes en fonction de leur compétence universelle. Nous allons continuer. On en parlera tout à l’heure, Madame la Présidente, dans le cadre du débat sur la lutte contre l’impunité et les propositions de création de juridictions pour le crime d’agression.

Je peux en tout cas vous assurer que toutes les propositions qui ont été formulées au cours de ce débat vont être prises en compte avec les États membres pour voir jusqu’où nous pouvons aller dans le cadre de l’unité de l’Union, je le rappelle, et aussi dans la concertation avec nos partenaires internationaux. Qu’il s’agisse de confiscation d’avoirs, qu’il s’agisse de sanctions, qu’il s’agisse de soutien militaire, c’est une démarche qui à chaque fois a lieu en commun avec les États membres, en commun aussi, je le répète, avec des partenaires internationaux. Je vous remercie en tout cas de votre soutien indéfectible à l’Ukraine face à cette agression de la Russie et face aux horreurs que l’on vient encore de vivre dans les dernières heures.

  Jessika Roswall, President-in-Office of the Council. – Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, Commissioner, I will be short but very clear. The Swedish Presidency stands ready to facilitate further measures: economic, humanitarian, military. Nothing is off the table.

And once again, I would like to praise the European Parliament for its support for Ukraine and the excellent cooperation with the Council and the Commission. And I would also like to thank Mr Verhofstadt for your letter and for your engagement, and all of you Members here in Parliament who have committed to this debate. And as President Metsola said this morning, we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

  Puhemies. – Keskustelu on päättynyt.