More and more voices in Brussels are calling for that Russian money to be used for European military support to Ukraine. Others point out that freezing bank deposits is allowed, but seizure legally amounts to theft. However, the interest from those frozen bank accounts is already being used by the EU to support Kyiv.
"There is no stronger symbol and no better use of that money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live," Von der Leyen said last week in a speech in the European Parliament. Earlier, the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, also said that redirecting those funds to Ukraine is ‘necessary and urgent.’
The European Parliament believes that the EU must support Ukraine with everything necessary to allow Kyiv to win the war against Russia. This was stated by Members of the European Parliament in a resolution adopted on Thursday with 451 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions. The resolution emphasizes how the war has fundamentally changed Europe.
The Members of the European Parliament believe that the EU should expand sanctions against Moscow and Russia’s ally Belarus, including banning the import of Russian uranium and a full embargo on the EU import of Russian agricultural and fishery products. Estonia and Lithuania have already announced an import ban on Russian food purchases.
The Parliament also condemns all countries, companies, associations, and individuals that help Moscow circumvent EU sanctions and states that these disruptive practices should be criminalized at the EU level.
EU politicians further hold Russia and President Putin criminally and politically responsible for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The European Parliament condemns the murder of the dissident and gives full support to his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, to continue his work.
The MEPs believe that President Vladimir Putin must be held accountable and demand an independent international investigation into his death. Navalny received the EU human rights award, the Sakharov Prize, in 2021.
Last Wednesday, Navalnaya gave an impressive speech to the parliament in Strasbourg. For safety reasons, she decided not to return to Russia and was unable to attend her husband’s funeral on Friday.