European Parliament calls on member states to strengthen aid to Ukraine

(Patria) - The European Parliament adopted a resolution last night calling on member states to significantly increase aid to Ukraine following apparent changes towards the war in that country that have arrived with the new government in Washington.

MEPs believe that after the apparent change in the US stance on Russian military aggression, which includes openly blaming Ukraine for the current war, the EU and member states must maintain their role as Kyiv's largest donor and significantly increase aid to the war-torn country.

At the plenary session in Strasbourg, MEPs welcomed the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire agreement negotiated by Kyiv and Washington.

They expressed their expectation that Russia will also accept it, but warned that the EU must provide strong security guarantees for Ukraine and must be able to reject hastily concluded ceasefire agreements that would weaken the continent's security and expose it to future Russian attacks.

The resolution states that European security negotiations cannot be conducted without the EU and expresses "dismay" at the US administration's appeasement policy towards Russia.

The resolution was adopted with 442 votes in favour, 98 against, and 126 abstentions.

Furthermore, MEPs believe that the EU must prepare for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and emphasize that Russia must pay for the enormous damage caused in that country.

Therefore, they called for the confiscation of Russian state assets frozen by European sanctions to be used for defence and reconstruction in Ukraine.

European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen said in the debate that 210 billion euros of Russian assets are currently frozen, and the profit generated through interest is going to Ukraine. This aid, after taxation, could reach up to three billion euros.

Touching upon the proposal for the EU to confiscate the total amount, Hansen stated that the European Commission is open to further discussions on any reasonable options that would force Russia to cease its aggression.

MEPs are divided on this idea; some believe it would be an appropriate punishment for Russia due to its aggression and could be part of future reparations to Kyiv, while opponents believe it would create a dangerous precedent.

President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde warned last week that any decision on the use of frozen Russian assets must be based on international law.

The ECB has long expressed concern about the impact of such a move on investors' future willingness to hold assets in euros.

- It is not for the ECB to discuss this, but I would certainly emphasize that the legality of the decision under international law will be important for other investors - said Lagarde.