European Parliament adopts resolution on Ukraine’s EU accession
Session of the European Parliament (Photo:REUTERS/Yves Herman)
With the support of 489 MEPs, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling to begin work on Ukraine's accession to the EU, the legislative body said in a message on its website on Feb. 2.
The resolution outlines the parliament’s expectations from the Ukraine-EU summit, which will be held in Kyiv on Feb. 3. It states that the EU should “work towards the start of the accession negotiations, and support a roadmap outlining the next steps to enable Ukraine’s accession to the EU single market.” MEPs called on Ukraine to carry out reforms as soon as possible, in order to meet the criteria for EU membership.
The document also calls for increased and accelerated military aid to Ukraine, as well as the necessary political, economic, infrastructural, financial, and humanitarian assistance.
EU leaders were also urged to prioritize a comprehensive recovery package for Ukraine at the Ukraine-EU summit, which should include “relief, reconstruction and recovery in the short-, medium-, and long-term.” The resolution also says that frozen Russian assets should be used for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
The resolution calls on EU countries to adopt the 10th package of sanctions against Russia as soon as possible. The parliament specifically calls to impose sanctions against Lukoil and Rosatom, which are still present on the European market, and to blacklist officials involved in the deportations of Ukrainians and holding fake “referendums” in occupied Ukrainian territories.
The European Parliament also called for a complete embargo on imports of fossil fuels and uranium from Russia, and for a complete abandonment of Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipelines.
On Feb. 3, EU-Ukraine summit will open, where Ukraine will report on its progress in meeting key criteria Brussels has outlined as being critical for the country’s EU membership.
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