EU remains ready to step up pressure on Russia, including through new sanctions

The European Union remains ready to step up pressure on Russia, including by applying new sanctions and by strengthening the enforcement of existing sanctions, according to a statement after the March 20 meeting of the European Council.

Subject to EU law, Russia’s assets should remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war and compensates Ukraine for the damages caused by the war, EU leaders agreed.

The EU maintains its peace through strength approach, which requires Ukraine to be in the strongest possible position. Ukraine’s own military and defence capabilities are an essential component of this, the statement said.

To deter future Russian aggression, Ukraine also needs to have robust and credible security guarantees.

“To this end, EU leaders welcomed the efforts that have begun to be made in this regard together with like-minded and Nato partners and expressed their readiness to contribute, particularly by supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself effectively,” the statement said.

They also called on EU member states to urgently step up efforts to address Ukraine’s pressing military and defence needs.

The EU will continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support. To this end, EU leaders called on the European Commission to swiftly frontload financing under the Ukraine Facility and the G7 extraordinary revenue acceleration loan and for the Commission and member states to use all options under the Ukraine Facility to increase support.

EU leaders emphasised that the EU will intensify support for Ukraine’s reform efforts to become a member state, the statement said.

In this regard, they highlighted the importance of progress in accession negotiations in line with the merit-based approach and of opening clusters once the conditions are met, starting with the fundamentals as soon as possible, it said.

(Photo: Council of the EU)

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