European Parliament calls for complete embargo on Russian energy resources

European Parliament calls for a total embargo on Russian oil, gas, coal and nuclear fuel, Report informs referring to the European Parliament’s website.

In a resolution adopted with 513 votes to 22 and 19 abstentions on April 7, MEPs call for additional punitive measures, including “an immediate full embargo on Russian imports of oil, coal, nuclear fuel and gas.”

“Parliament expresses indignation over reported atrocities by the Russian armed forces and demands that perpetrators of war crimes be held accountable,” reads the resolution.

This should be accompanied by a plan to ensure the EU’s security of energy supply, as well as a strategy to “roll back sanctions in case Russia takes steps towards restoring Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and completely removes its troops from the territory of Ukraine.”

Existing sanctions must now be fully and effectively implemented throughout the EU and by the EU’s international allies as a matter of priority, insist MEPs. They call on EU leaders to exclude Russia from the G20 and other multilateral organizations, such as UNHRC, Interpol, the World Trade Organization, UNESCO and others, “which would be an important sign that the international community will not return to business as usual with the aggressor state”.

To make the sanctions more effective, the Parliament calls for Russian banks to be excluded from the SWIFT system, for all vessels connected to Russia to be banned from entering EU territorial waters and docking at EU ports and for road freight transport from and to Russia and Belarus to be prohibited.