Russia must pay for its war against Ukraine and Europe

The EPP Group wants Russia to pay for its war against Ukraine. The European Union must be part of the international initiatives to hold Moscow and its proxies accountable for the damages caused in Ukraine and in the EU, stress EPP Group MEPs ahead of today’s vote to accelerate the accession of the EU to the Convention Establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.

"The EU should open a representation office to the international organisations in The Hague without delay, in order to ensure our effective participation to these important new international bodies, such as the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which are already located there," says Michael Gahler MEP, EPP Group’s lead MEP on Ukraine.

"We support the signature by the EU of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression with the objective that the EU will also become a full member of its management committee," Gahler adds. 

Between 30 March and 19 April alone, Russia launched over 5,960 drones, nearly 2,670 guided aerial bombs and over 100 missiles against Ukraine, killing at least 75 civilians and injuring more than 400 others. Since February 2022 at least 17,167 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, including 697 children. More than 42,200 were injured. 

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine also caused the largest forced displacement of civilians in Europe since World War II, with 10 million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, displaced, including 7 million who have found refuge abroad. 

Since 24 February 2022, the World Health Organization has documented at least 2,881 attacks on health workers, facilities, ambulances and medical warehouses across Ukraine. 

"In light of these facts, it is of outmost importance that the EU is among the founding members of the Claims Commission which will review, assess and decide on the compensation of damage, loss or injury caused by Russia in or against Ukraine. The speedy delivery of the Parliament’s consent will be a confirmation of our commitment to justice for Ukraine," stresses Andrzej Halicki MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chair for Foreign Affairs. "In times of war, the EU and its institutions, the Parliament at the forefront, should be the ones calling and defending the principles of justice and international law," Halicki adds.