The European Parliament calls for freezing “North Stream 2” and threatens to exclude Russia from SWIFT
The European Parliament adopted on Thursday, a non-mandatory resolution that called on the European Union to take steps against Russia, including freezing the “North Stream 2” gas pipeline project.
569 deputies voted (compared to 67 opponents and 46 abstentions) in favor of the resolution adopted by the European Parliament at the conclusion of its consultations on Russia, under the pretext of responding to the imprisonment of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, and Moscow mobilizing its forces near the borders of Ukraine against the backdrop of the escalation in the Donbas region The Czech authorities accused Russian intelligence of being behind the blasts that rocked an arms warehouse in the town of Vrpetice in 2014.
The resolution calls on the European Council and the European Union’s High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to adopt a new strategic approach in relations with Russia, limit dealing with the authorities of this country and focus more on “helping civil society” in it.
The resolution states that “any dialogue with Russia must be based on respect for international law and human rights”.
The resolution stressed, in particular, the need for the European Union to reduce its dependence on Russia in the field of energy, and therefore urged the institutions of the Union and its member states to freeze the construction of the “North Stream 2”.
The statement expressed the European Parliament’s solidarity with the Czech Republic in the issue of the Vrpetice explosions, and called on the member states of the Union to deport Russian diplomats in a coordinated manner from their territories.
The decision also threatened Russia to “pay a high price” in the event that the mobilization of its forces at the borders of Ukraine leads to a military intervention in this country, explaining that this scenario should lead immediately to the suspension of all oil and gas imports to the Union from Russia and excluding them from the SWIFT system for financial transactions.
In addition to freezing the assets of all businessmen associated with the Russian government and preventing them from traveling to the territory of the Union.
