Brussels, Jan. 14 – On Jan. 15, the European Parliament is to pass a resolution on Ukraine which strongly condemns Russia's "aggressive and expansionist policy" and calls for the continuation or even strengthening of current sanctions as long as Moscow does not meet the Minsk agreements, EurActiv online edition reported on Wednesday.
The parliamentary groups agreed Jan. 13 on a consolidated text of the Resolution, based on a draft presented by the centre-right European Peoples’ party (EPP).
According to the text, the European Parliament “strongly condemns Russia’s aggressive and expansionist policy”, which it says constitutes “a threat to the unity and independence of Ukraine and poses a potential threat to the European Union itself”. It condemns the “illegal annexation of Crimea and waging an undeclared hybrid war against Ukraine, including information war, blending elements of cyber warfare, use of regular and irregular forces, propaganda, economic pressure energy blackmail, diplomacy and political destabilization”.
The text also emphasizes that “these actions are in breach of international law and constitute a serious challenge to the European security situation.”
Consequently, MEPs call “for the continuation of the current EU sanction regime in particular at the upcoming Council meeting in March 2015, as long as Russia does not fully respect and deliver in particular on its Minsk obligations”.
They urge the Commission “to find ways to enhance the solidarity among the member states in case the crisis with Russia goes on” and also stress the need “to adopt a clear set of benchmarks which, when achieved, could prevent imposing new restrictive measures against Russia or lead to lifting of the previous ones, including implementation of the ceasefire, unconditional withdrawal from Ukraine of all Russian troops and Russian-backed illegal armed groups and mercenaries, exchange of all prisoners including Nadia Savchenko [a former lieutenant of the Ukrainian army, captured by pro-Russian insurgents and charged with the murder of two Russian journalists] and restoration of Ukraine’ control over its whole territory, including Crimea”.
In the event of any further Russian actions which destabilize Ukraine, MEPs invited the European Council “to take up further restrictive measures and broaden their scope, by covering the nuclear sector and by limiting the ability of Russian entities to conduct international financial transactions”.
MEPs also stated that there are no legal restrictions on member states providing defensive arms to Ukraine, and welcome the decision of the French government to halt the delivery of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia.
MEPs also “welcome the stop of the South Stream project”, a Gazprom-favoured pipeline aimed at bringing Russian gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine.
EP resolution is not mandatory for EU member states.
