The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Ukraine and the state of play of EU-Russia relations.
The resolution was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, Greens/EFA, Valentinas MAZURONIS (EFD, LT) and Iveta GRIGULE (EFD LV).
It welcomed the signing of the Minsk ceasefire agreement on 5 September 2014 and called on all sides to make every effort to implement it with a view to paving the way for the start of a genuine peace process. Parliament expressed its strong concern, however, that the ceasefire is a pretext for Russian troops to regroup in order to continue their offensive towards establishing a ‘land corridor’ to Crimea and beyond to Transnistria. It strongly stressed that there should be a political solution to this conflict.
Members noted the laws on special status for some districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and on amnesty adopted by Verkhovna Rada on 16 September 2014 as an important contribution to de-escalation within the implementation of the President of Ukraine’s Peace Plan.
They reiterated the right of Ukraine to make a European choice and that the international community would not recognise the illegal annexing of Crimea and Sevastopol or the attempts at creating quasi-republics in Donbas.
Parliament strongly condemned the Russian Federation for waging an undeclared ‘hybrid war’ against Ukraine with use of regular Russian forces and supporting illegally armed groups. These actions by the Russian leadership constituted a threat not only to the unity and independence of Ukraine, but to the whole European continent. Members called on Russia immediately to withdraw all its military assets and forces from Ukraine, to prohibit the flows of fighters and weapons into eastern Ukraine, and to end support, direct or indirect, for the actions of the separatist forces on Ukrainian soil.
AA/DCFTA: the resolution welcomed the simultaneous ratification of the AA/DCFTA by the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament. However, Parliament deplored the extraordinary measures and level of pressure exerted by Russia and stated that the agreement could not and would not be changed. It called on Member States to swiftly proceed with the ratification of the AA/DCFTA with Ukraine. It took note of the ongoing consultation between Ukraine, Russia and the EU on the implementation of the AA/DCFTA with Ukraine and hoped that it would help solve any misunderstandings. Welcoming the reform programme announced by President Poroshenko, Members called on the Commission and on the EEAS to urgently draw up a comprehensive and ambitious financial assistance and aid package for Ukraine and in particular for the people in eastern Ukraine, to support the work on a political solution and on national reconciliation.
Restrictive measures: Parliament gave its support to the restrictive measures the EU adopted against Russia during the summer of 2014 as a result of Russia’s continued aggression, and considered that any sanctions should be designed in a way which would not allow Kremlin-linked companies to circumvent them. The EU was asked to monitor such forms of economic cooperation as equity swaps and joint ventures.
Parliament went on to state that the restrictive measures taken by the EU were directly linked to the Russian Federation’s violation of international law with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine, while the trade measures taken by the Russian Federation, including those against Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries which have recently concluded Association Agreements with the EU, were unjustified. It called for the EU to consider excluding Russia from civil nuclear cooperation and the Swift system.
Furthermore in this connection, Parliament;
· welcomed the decision by the French Government to halt the delivery of the Mistral helicopter carriers, and called on all Member States to take a similar line regarding exports not covered by the EU sanctions decisions, in particular as regards arms and dual-use material;
· called on the EU to consider gas storage, interconnectors and flow-back facilities as strategic assets, and therefore regulate the share of third-party business contracting parties in those crucial sectors;
· considered that Member States should cancel planned agreements with Russia in the energy sector, including the South Stream gas pipeline.
However, Members also stressed the reversibility and scalability of the EU restrictive measures, depending on the situation in Ukraine. They called for the adoption of a clear set of benchmarks which, when achieved, could prevent adoption of the new restrictive measures against Russia or lead to the lifting of the previous ones, including:
· complete withdrawal of Russian troops and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine;
· ending the supply of arms and equipment to terrorists;
· full respect for the ceasefire regime by Russia;
· establishment of effective international control and verification of the ceasefire regime; and
· the restoration of Ukraine’s control over its entire territory.
Parliament invited the new HR/VP to take a proactive role in facilitating dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the EU’s dialogue with Russia, and in promoting peaceful solutions to conflicts. It believed, furthermore, that the Commission should explore the modalities of EU cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union.
Russian countermeasures: the Commission was asked to follow closely the impact of the Russian ‘counter-sanctions’ and to take swift measures to support producers that were hit by the Russian trade restrictions. Parliament welcomed the measures adopted by the EU Agriculture Council of 5 September 2014, and urged the Commission to do its utmost to support in a substantial and timely manner the European producers affected. It also called on the Commission to closely monitor the agricultural, food, fish and aquaculture markets, to inform the Council and the European Parliament of any changes and to assess the impact of the measures taken in order possibly to extend the list of products covered and to increase the EUR 125 million budget. The Commission should not restrict itself to market measures but should also take medium-term measures in order to strengthen the EU’s presence on third-country markets (e.g. promotional activities).
In addition, it would consider the possibility of drawing on EU funds other than agricultural funds, since the crisis was first and foremost of a political nature and not the result of a market failure or adverse weather conditions.
Lastly, Parliament underlined the importance of the independent, rapid and full investigation, delegated to the Dutch Safety Board, into the causes of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, and the need to bring those responsible for the crash to justice.