European Parliament calls for more effective sanctions on Russia and more active defence cooperation with Ukraine
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) strongly condemned Russia’s “reckless and escalatory actions” of violating the airspace of EU and NATO member states, and called for more sanctions on Russia and proactive defence cooperation with Ukraine.
MEPs called on the Council of the European Union and the European Commission to increase the effectiveness and impact of sanctions on Russia, to “definitively undermine” the country’s ability to continue waging its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The punitive measures should extend to all the states enabling Russia’s actions, such as Belarus, Iran and North Korea, with MEPs also advocating for sanctions against Chinese entities supplying dual-use goods and military items, essential for the manufacturing of drones and missiles.
The resolution also calls for a substantive step-up in defence cooperation with Ukraine, in particular regarding both drone technology and countermeasures, including enhancing industrial cooperation. It also urges the co-legislators to swiftly finalise the legislation on the European Defence Industrial Programme (EDIP). This should be used, together with the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, to commit financial resources to learn from Ukraine, and to support Ukraine on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) warfare.
The resolution was adopted by 469 votes in favour, 97 against, and 38 abstentions.
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