Sanctions against Russia are not enough, according to the ECR Group in the European Parliament. In a debate on the preparation of a resolution to be adopted in November, the conservatives in the Strasbourg plenary criticised that the existing sanctions remain inefficient and are partly circumvented.
ECR foreign affairs coordinator and former Polish foreign minister Anna Fotyga addressed the plenary on behalf of the group:
“Unfortunately, 600 days after the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are still discussing how to effectively curb Russia’s power to commit atrocities, war crimes and genocide. There is no question that sanctions are unprecedented and very important. But they are not enough and not sufficiently consistent. We need to broaden them. That includes the diamond trade.
“We need to expand individual sanctions. I would also like to see sanctions against countries that allow Russia to evade sanctions. That is why we also need to sanction Belarus, because Lukashenko is an accomplice of Russia. ”
According to the ECR Group, there are too many loopholes and EU companies that are still doing business in Russia. Russian funds frozen abroad should be used to provide material support to Ukraine and its economy.
