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
Ukraines 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
Russias 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
Federations 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 Ukraines 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 EUs 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 EUs
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.