Nine European parliamentary delegations publish joint statement on Ukraine
17 June 2022
The Foreign Affairs Committee publishes a joint statement on Ukraine, signed by attendees at the Committee’s Northern Neighbours Parliamentary Conference.
- The statement calls for the international community’s support to Ukraine to continue and intensify.
- It calls on governments to begin planning, with the Government of Ukraine, for the country’s long-term reconstruction.
- It condemns in the strongest possible terms the serial breach of international law and the perpetration of war crimes in Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies.
- It calls on the international community to take all necessary steps to deter Russian military personnel from the further terrorisation of the people of Ukraine, ensuring those responsible are held to account. This includes the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Punishment of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
- The statement wholeheartedly condemns Russia’s weaponisation of food and hunger as tools to increase its power and leverage.
- It calls for our governments to work with likeminded partners to enhance our collective security against military and nuclear threats in Europe, linking the High North with the Baltics and the Black Sea, and urgently acting to reduce nuclear risks.
- It reaffirms the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
- The statement pledges to build our countries’ resilience to the more insidious influence of hostile states and their proxies and establish horizon-scanning mechanisms for such state threats to our democracies and free-market economies, and to share the insight generated with allies and likeminded partners.
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat MP, said:
“Our northern neighbours challenged our thinking and opened our eyes to the threats we share. As we’ve seen in the reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the superpowers of a democracy is the ability to build dependable alliances to create a united response. From security threats to climate change, close collaboration helps us weather the challenges we all face.
“We’re all descendants of Viking kingdoms, finding our way through difficult waters, and this conference helped us find areas where parliaments can lead and make a difference.”
Signatories
Michael Aastrup Jensen, Vice Chairman, Foreign Policy Committee, Denmark
Marko Mihkelson, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Estonia
Jussi Halla-aho, Chairperson, Foreign Affairs Committee, Finland
Bjarni Jónsson, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Iceland
Charles Flanagan, Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Ireland
Rihards Kols, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Latvia
Laima Liucija AndrikienÄ—, Chairperson, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Republic of Lithuania
Kenneth G Forslund, Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, United Kingdom
Note to Editors:
Neither the Committee Chair nor another Committee delegate from the Norwegian Parliament was able to attend these proceedings due to the vote on the NATO applications of Finland and Sweden taking place at the same time. A representative of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London was in attendance.
Further information
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