Strasbourg (France) – AFP
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament called for a “comprehensive and immediate” ban on imports of “oil, nuclear fuel, coal and gas” from Russia.
513 European deputies voted in favor of the resolution, 22 voted once morest and 19 abstained.
European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola commented, “This is a very important moment and a meaningful stage. Parliament’s position is clear and sends the strongest messages of support to those on the front line.”
On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed to the 27 member states to stop their purchases of Russian coal, which constitutes 45% of EU imports, and to close European ports to Russian ships. The procedures for this fifth package of sanctions are currently being discussed among representatives of member states.
Parliament is calling for it to move forward, but a possible embargo on Russian oil (25% of total European oil imports) and Russian gas (45% of the total) is the subject of bitter debates among member states, and Berlin has publicly expressed reluctance, and the topic is set to be debated Monday at a meeting of European foreign ministers.
With this decision, European MPs are also requesting to “intensify the sending of weapons to Ukraine”, which was also demanded by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Thursday during his visit to the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
So far, European Union countries have agreed on a €1 billion package to supply Kyiv with weapons, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “It might sound like a lot, but €1 billion is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he supplies us with.”
The European Parliament also called on the European Union to exclude all Russian banks from the SWIFT system of fast and secure banking communication (following seven Russian banks were excluded from it), and to prevent the land and sea transport of goods towards Russia.
He called for “all necessary measures” to be taken “to prosecute the actions of Vladimir Putin and (Belarusian President) Alexander Lukashenko as war crimes and crimes once morest humanity.”
MEPs spoke of their support for the creation of a “Marshall Plan-like fund” to rebuild post-war Ukraine.
