The European Parliament is preparing to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, according to the MEP who drafted the resolution to be voted on Wednesday at the plenary session in Strasbourg.
The resolution «recognizes Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state that uses terrorist means», according to the MEP behind the drafting of the text, the Lithuanian ‘popular’ Andrius Kubilius, as confirmed by parliamentary sources to Europa Press.
This is the common formula agreed between the groups that will include the motion for a resolution, which focuses on denouncing the more than 40,000 documented war crimes committed by the Russian army, in particular, the massacres of Ukrainian civilians in places like Irpin, Bucha or Izium.
Since the EU legal framework does not provide for the designation of countries as sponsors of terrorism, a scheme that does exist in the United States or Canada, the resolution calls on the EU-27 to take steps on their own to designate Russia and asks the EU as a whole to develop such a mechanism to denounce countries using terrorist means, which would facilitate «numerous significant restrictive measures and have profound implications for the EU’s relations with those countries».
The negotiated proposal has not been supported by Social Democrats or Greens, so it remains to be seen how much support the resolution finally receives. Parliamentary sources are confident that some MEPs of these formations end up supporting the initiative on Wednesday despite the reluctance of their groups.
MORE SANCTIONS TO RUSSIA AND SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE Also, the resolution emphasizes that the EU continues to pressure Russia with the ninth package of sanctions in retaliation for its military offensive in Ukraine. Specifically, they call for a «total embargo» on imports of Russian hydrocarbons and uranium and to abandon the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines altogether.
It also calls for a tightening of imports and targeting of sectors such as diamonds and increased sanctions against cryptocurrencies, as well as restrictions against persons responsible for referendums in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions, and the designation of Russia and Belarus on the European anti-money laundering list.
The proposal calls for changes to the EU’s human rights sanctions mechanism to include corruption cases, which could translate into swift sanctions against individuals behind corruption schemes in Russia and Belarus. It urges the EU-27 to include the Wagner Group and other Russian militias involved in the conflict on the EU list of terrorist groups.
On measures to support Ukraine, the resolution calls on EU member states to increase «political, financial and military» support to Kiev in the midst of the Russian war of invasion, as well as to work on a compensation mechanism to address the damage caused by the Russian army and facilitate the reconstruction of the country.
It also urges the EU-27 and the European institutions to support with all their means the investigations to document war crimes in Ukraine and thus ensure accountability and responsibility in the military offensive launched by Moscow on February 24, in addition to establishing a special court to judge Russian war crimes in the neighboring country.
