The European Parliament is preparing to declare Russia a promoter of terrorism

BRUSELAS, 22 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Parliament is preparing to declare Russia a State promoter of terrorism, as indicated by the MEP who drafted the resolution that will be put to the vote this Wednesday in the plenary session held in Strasbourg.

The resolution "recognizes Russia as a state that promotes terrorism and as a state that uses terrorist means", as pointed out by the MEP behind the drafting of the text, the Lithuanian 'popular' Andrius Kubilius, and parliamentary sources have confirmed this to Europa Press.

This is the common formula agreed between the groups that will include the resolution proposal, which focuses on denouncing the more than 40,000 documented war crimes committed by the Russian Army, in particular, the killings of Ukrainian civilians in places like Irpin, Bucha or Izium.

Since the EU legal framework does not provide for the designation of countries as sponsors of terrorism, a scheme that does exist in the United States or Canada, the resolution calls on the Twenty-seven to take steps on their own to designate Russia and asks the EU as a whole to develop this mechanism to denounce countries that use terrorist means, which would facilitate "numerous significant restrictive measures and have profound implications for the EU's relations with those countries".

The negotiated proposal has not had the support of the Social Democrats or the Greens, so it remains to be seen what support the resolution finally receives. Parliamentary sources are confident that some MEPs from these formations will end up supporting the initiative this Wednesday despite the reluctance of their groups.

The resolution also stresses that the EU continue to pressure Russia with the ninth package of sanctions in retaliation for its military offensive in Ukraine. Specifically, they ask for a "total embargo" on imports of Russian hydrocarbons and uranium and to completely abandon the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

It also calls for tightening the siege on imports and attacking sectors such as diamonds and increasing sanctions against cryptocurrencies, as well as restrictions against the people responsible for referendums in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions, as well as designating Russia and Belarus in the European list against money laundering.

The proposal calls for changes to the EU's sanctions mechanism for human rights violations to include corruption cases, which can translate into expedited sanctions against individuals behind corruption schemes in Russia and Belarus. The Twenty-seven urges them to include the Wagner Group and other Russian militias involved in the conflict on the EU list of terrorist groups.

On support measures for Ukraine, the resolution calls on EU member states to increase "political, financial and military" support for kyiv in the midst of the Russian invasion war, as well as work on a compensation mechanism to deal with the damage caused by the Russian Army and facilitate the reconstruction of the country.

It also urges the Twenty-seven and the European institutions to support with all means the investigations to document war crimes in Ukraine and in this way guarantee that there is accountability and responsibilities in the military offensive launched by Moscow on February 24, in addition to establish a special court to try Russian war crimes in the neighboring country.