The European Parliament Calls for a Full Embargo on Oil, Coal, Nuclear Fuel, and Gas Imports from Russia
The relevant resolution was adopted by 513 votes to 22 in the plenary session of the European Parliament. “By a large majority, the European Parliament has voted in favor of a resolution imposing an immediate embargo on Russian oil, gas, coal, and other fossil fuels.” MEP Guy Verkhofstadt wrote about it on Twitter.
In the resolution, MEPs also express outrage over the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine and call for the creation of a special UN tribunal to investigate war crimes committed in Ukraine. European lawmakers also call for an increase in arms supply to Ukraine so that Ukraine can defend itself.
The resolution states that Russia’s use of weapons of mass destruction will have dire consequences. However, the resolution says that a strategy needs to be developed to lift sanctions if Russia steps to restore Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and withdraws all forces from Ukraine.
MEPs are calling on EU leaders to exclude Russia from the G-20 and other international organizations, such as the UN Human Rights Council, Interpol, the World Trade Organization, and UNESCO. According to the deputies, this will be an important sign that the international community will not return to normal activities with the aggressor state.
To make the sanctions more effective, the European Parliament is calling for Russian banks to be disconnected from the SWIFT system, as well as for Russian-owned vessels to be barred from entering EU territorial waters and ports. Deputies are also calling for a ban on road shipment from Russia. MEPs believe that similar restrictions should be imposed on Belarus.
