-
.
- Ελληνικά
With 637 votes in favour from all political groups and just 13 against, the European Parliament plenary adopted the resolution regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine after the conclusion of the body's extraordinary session in Brussels, during which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (via teleconference), European Council and Commission Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative Josep Borel spoke.
In the resolution, MEPs call for Ukraine to become a candidate country for membership and for rapid progress in this direction, call for restrictions on imports of the most important products exported by Russia, such as oil and gas, stress that the sanctions should strategically affect the Russian economy and industry, call for a faster supply of defence weapons to Ukraine and call for Belarus to be excluded from the SWIFT banking system.
Out of a total of 676 votes, 637 from all groups voted in favour, 13 against (one from the far-right Identity and Democracy ID group, four from the non-registered group, seven from the Left and one from the Greens) while 26 MEPs abstained (one from the ECR Conservatives and Reformists, seven from ID, eight from the non-registered group and 10 from the Left).
Of the Cypriot MEPs, Loukas Fourlas, Lefteris Christoforou (European People's Party), Kostas Mavridis and Dimitris Papadakis (S&D) and Niyazi Kiziljirek (Left) voted in favour, while George Georgiou (Left) abstained, submitting a justification which is set out below.
The European Parliament's resolution
The resolution condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and demands that the Kremlin end all military activity in the country and condemns the regime's role in Belarus.
The resolution also calls on the institutions to work towards Ukraine becoming a candidate country, in a manner compatible with Article 49 TEU and based on the progress made by the country, while at the same time continuing to work towards its integration into the single European market on the basis of the existing Association Agreement.
Regarding sanctions, the resolution calls for more restrictive measures to weaken the country's economy, restrict oil and gas imports, ban any new investment from the EU in Russia and vice versa, and cut off all banks from the European financial system and Russia (and Belarus) from SWIFT.
It is also stressed that targeted sanctions should also be adopted against those responsible for corruption in Russia and Belarus, while the resolution also calls on member states and partner countries with residence permit programmes in exchange for investment ("golden visas") to review all existing holders of such permits and to revoke any visas granted to high-net-worth Russian individuals and their families, especially those associated with sanctioned individuals and companies.
MEPs also reject Russia's rhetoric that "hints at the possible use of weapons of mass destruction" and stress the dangers of any nuclear escalation.
They also call on Member States to provide faster defensive weapons to Ukraine on the basis of Article 51 of the UN Charter, and closer EU-Ukraine intelligence cooperation
They also call on the Commission to provide more emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in cooperation with relevant UN agencies, and welcome the commitment to activate temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees, calling for an equal sharing of reception among Member States.
Justification of abstention by George Georgiou
In explaining his vote in Parliament, MEP George Georgiou stressed that, "I unequivocally condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is a violation of international law, as well as the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which is a violation of the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states". It stresses that "an immediate cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and the safeguarding of the life, individual and collective rights of all citizens of Ukraine, regardless of where they live, are required".
The MEP disagrees that the resolution "promotes further EU military aid, increased defence spending, the use of the European Defence Fund, the strengthening of the European pillar within NATO", adding that "all previous experience underlines that NATO is not an agent of peace and that the generalised use of weapons advocated by the resolution reproduces war at the expense of all peoples".
It also adds that the resolution "is heterogeneous in terms of blaming the failure to implement the Minsk Agreements for seven years, while making no mention of NATO's continued eastward enlargement, thereby violating the OSCE treaties to ensure the security and stability of all states", and that "the EU's peacekeeping role should be extremely underestimated".
For the above, the MEP adds "I cannot endorse the resolution as a whole, which points the way to further military escalation. Firmly believing that the only way out of the situation is a return to diplomacy and dialogue and not further escalation, I will abstain."
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
