Put all EU law to a 'Russia Stress Test'

Putin's war crimes in Ukraine and the atrocities inflicted by Russian troops on Ukrainian civilians must not remain unanswered. The EPP Group calls for a total ban on energy imports from Russia, with an embargo on Russian oil, coal and nuclear fuel immediately, as well as a gas embargo as soon as possible. It also calls on the EU Institutions to grant Ukraine EU candidate status without delay and to help Ukrainians defend themselves by continuing to deliver weapons to the country.

These requests are on a list of measures the EPP Group has adopted and calls for as an immediate response to the ongoing invasion and aggression in Ukraine.

“We cannot close our eyes to the inconceivable horror of what the Russian army has done in Bucha and possibly in many other places in Ukraine. The war crimes that are being discovered in the aftermath of the Russian retreat around Kyiv cannot leave us unmoved. The Western community of states must not accept this. We must further tighten sanctions so that they hurt Russia. Putin must be stopped. It is high time to end coal and oil deliveries from Russia and to increase arms deliveries to Ukraine”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group.

“Ukrainians are defending not only their homeland, but also us against Putin’s tanks, missiles and jets. This is also our war for European values, and we can win it if we are strong and undertake everything we can now, not tomorrow or the day after tomorrow”, added Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chair in charge of Foreign Affairs. Juknevičienė also underlined the need for the EU to grant political protection to Ukraine. “This includes the delivery of weapons by the EU and the Member States to Ukrainians and an immediate granting of candidate status. Ukraine signed its membership request to the EU in its own blood. We must ensure that all loopholes for circumventing sanctions are closed and send a clear message that there will be justice for Putin, Lukashenko and everyone who has committed war crimes. I call on all countries in the European Union - do not be afraid to take the necessary decisions!”, insisted Juknevičienė.

The EPP Group also calls for a ‘Russia Stress Test’ of all future and ongoing EU legislation. This does not only include changes to the EU's energy system and food production, but also involves the exclusion of Russia from certain programmes or projects, increasing the EU’s autonomy and strengthening the relationship with Ukraine and other countries in the Eastern Neighbourhood. The EPP Group has provided the European Commission, the European Council and the EU Member States with an exhaustive list of the legislation that needs to be reviewed, modified, accelerated or delayed, to take the new situation into account. The list can be consulted here.

Manfred Weber will hold a press conference presenting the paper today at 10.40 hrs in Parliament’s Daphne Caruana Galizia Press room in Strasbourg. Journalists who want to ask questions remotely can connect here.