Metsola warns EU could lose face with too much flexibility on Russian sanctions

Metsola told a special meeting of the European Council that Europe had to remain in the lead and give Ukraine candidate status for EU membership

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola addresses the press after the first day of the special European Council meeting
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola addresses the press after the first day of the special European Council meeting

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola called on EU leaders yesterday to start planning Europe’s “long-term engagement” in the East and Balkans, beyond the immediacy of emergency help to Ukraine.

Metsola told a special meeting of the European Council, which yesterday was trying to get a compromise deal on sanctioning oil shipments from Russia, that Europe had to remain in the lead and give Ukraine candidate status for EU membership.

“Candidate status will give Ukraine hope. It will open doors to Ukraine to participate in different programmes and give them space and time for reforms to take place,” Metsola, who made representations on the EP’s formal position to the Council.

“This is not an overnight solution nor should we give the impression that it is. Candidate status – a real perspective – has the ability to transform countries. We’ve seen it with many around this table. And we’ve seen it in Albania and North Macedonia – to whom, by the way, we owe real answers.”

Metsola said EU membership for Ukraine would give it perspective, rather than forcing it to look elsewhere. “We are at a point in time when the EU must become a real global power for democracy – flying the flag of liberal democracies in a world that is becoming more complicated and more dangerous.”

Metsola expressed support for sanctions to disentangle the bloc from Russian energy, referring to Hungarian protestations against a ban on refinery oil by saying that there was “a limit to how much flexibility we can allow without losing credibility vis-à-vis our populations and look weak in the face of a Russia.”

Metsola said member states should increase defence budgets and redirect common funds towards enhancing defence capabilities in a way that complements NATO efforts. “Our security and defence is fast becoming an existential question. We need to have the tools to defend ourselves and we can only do that together.”

She warned that with Ukraine not allowed to toil its fields, Europe was looking at a global multi-year lack of food supplies. “Russia knows this and is blackmailing the world while filling up its own silos with stolen Ukrainian wheat and cereals. We urgently need to find ways to get grain moving out of Ukraine to where it is most needed in the world. We must increase the ‘solidarity lanes’ as announced by the European Commission and explore other possibilities to get grain on the move.”

Metsoal said achieving Green Deal objectives was the best way to wean Europe off “toxic dependencies from unreliable partners.”

The EP president also supported protection mechanisms against severe price fluctuations on gas, and called for common purchasing platforms on gas. “The swift conclusion of negotiations on the gas storage requirement shows we can deliver – but we need more.

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