We stand with Ukraine!

Our TAKE A LEFT podcast with Pedro Marques and Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz outlines the current situation in Ukraine and discusses why Europe must step up its assistance. We not only emphasize the urgency for Europe to bolster its assistance but also delve deeper into the necessary measures required to aid Ukraine in its reconstruction efforts and eventual integration into the European Union.

• Bans on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible, as well as urgent investments and a commitment to sustainable energy solutions and EU energy independence
• Support for refugees and countries hosting large numbers of refugees, such as Moldova and neighbouring EU member states
• EU support to help Ukrainian authorities secure evidence of war crimes and a call for the creation of a special international tribunal to investigate and prosecute the crime of aggression committed by Russian leadership against Ukraine
• Support for Ukraine as a candidate country for EU membership as a political symbol of support for the people of Ukraine, while underlining that EU membership requires candidate countries to fulfil the established criteria and conditions
• Call for establishing a legal regime that would allow the use of public Russian assets frozen by the EU for the purpose of Ukraine’s reconstruction
• Stronger EU action to cope with the social and economic consequences of the war on Ukraine, including a Social Resilience Package to provide targeted support for the most vulnerable
• More attention to the special situation of women and children (with the Child Protection Package), both inside and outside Ukraine, and proposals for concrete support
• Diplomatic action to protect neighbouring countries against the war
• Efforts to counter Russian disinformation
• Measures to promote greater EU strategic autonomy
• Urgent work to tackle food security and mitigate the impact on the world's supply of staple crops, feed and fertilisers
• Tough, unprecedented sanctions on Russia – targeting the key sectors of its economy and the political elites in close cooperation with partners including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan
• Sanctions against Belarus and Iran, in response to their involvement in Russia’s war of aggression

Our action aims at ending the war; at stopping the suffering in Ukraine – of those who were displaced or have fled to other European countries, while upholding the European values of peace, respect for international law, democracy and solidarity. Our action is directed at the current leadership of Russia – not the Russian people.

In May of 2022, we backed a one-year suspension of EU import duties on all Ukrainian exports to support the country’s economy and to help keep its trade links open. These measures removed import duties on industrial products, fruit and vegetables, as well as steel imports for a period of one year. The Parliament gave the green light to renew the trade-liberalization measures for another year to help ensure Ukrainian trade can continue amidst Russia’s brutal war. We also fought hard for the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive for refugees from Ukraine and supported EU emergency assistance for Ukraine and macro-financial assistance programmes, which have provided much-needed financial support. Our MEPs in the agriculture, transport and international trade committees have also been working hard on efforts to facilitate exports of Ukrainian agricultural products and to establish so-called ‘solidarity lanes’ to help find alternative routes to export food – especially grain – stuck in Ukraine due to Russia’s blockade of its ports.

At the end of March 2023, a delegation of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament led by its president, Iratxe García Pérez, visited Ukraine to meet with key representatives of the government, parliament, and presidential administration to express the Group’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, and to reaffirm its commitment to accompany Ukraine in its accession to the European Union.

Before this, other S&D MEPs had been active visiting the region. S&D MEP Tonino Picula joined a delegation from the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee and security and defence sub-committee to visit Ukraine in February 2022, shortly before Russia began its onslaught. S&D president Iratxe García Pérez visited the Hungarian border in March to meet volunteers and see for herself the situation for migrants arriving in the country. She also undertook a visit to Moldova with S&D MEP Dan Nica in April to meet with the president, Maia Sandu, and see the efforts they are making to accommodate so many Ukrainian refugees. And our MEP Evin Incir joined a parliamentary fact-finding mission to Moldova in April to assess the impact of Russia‘s war in Ukraine on neighbouring Moldova.

Many of our MEPs have longstanding links with Ukraine and within the region, and we have built on these connections to help in the current situation in which Ukraine defends itself against the Russian war of aggression. We set up an S&D Contact Group on Ukraine and we increased EU Strategic Autonomy to coordinate our action across all affected areas. We were thrilled to welcome our Ukrainian friends from SD Platform (a civil society organisation working to defend social democratic ideals in Ukraine) in Brussels in April 2023, just weeks after our S&D leader's visit to Kyiv. We discussed progressive politics in post-war Ukraine, as well as priorities for a fair and inclusive reconstruction of the country. Together we will work to help rebuild Ukraine's future, all the way to EU accession.

The European Parliament's Special Committee on Interference (INGE), chaired by Raphaël Glucksmann, voted on an ambitious report. It targets Russia, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The interference of these countries in Europe takes various forms: illegal financing of political parties and campaigns, fake news and disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks, capture of politicians and senior officials, investments in strategic sectors threatening the independence and security of Europeans. The list is long.

This video explains in detail the misdeeds of these foreign actors who seek to destabilise our institutions and democracies. The Russian invasion of Ukraine makes the work of the INGE committee even more crucial. See more information.