Members of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee have backed a report welcoming Ukraine’s reform progress linked to its bid to join the EU, while saying any peace deal with Russia must be decided with Ukraine and Europe.
The committee adopted the text on Wednesday by 54 votes in favour, 17 against and five abstentions, after reviewing recent developments in Ukraine and its progress on reforms tied to the EU membership application process, the parliamentary press service informed.
MEPs said “nothing about Ukraine should be decided without Ukraine” when it comes to ending Russia’s war, and “nothing should be decided about Europe without Europe”, arguing any agreement would have implications for European security.
The report calls on the European Commission and EU countries to explore appointing a high-level European negotiator with a clearly defined mandate to represent the EU in diplomatic talks.
MEPs also criticised the US position of making security guarantees for Ukraine conditional on Ukraine withdrawing from the Donbas region, saying Ukraine should instead receive “credible security guarantees” once the war has formally ended.
Rule of law, corruption and elections
The committee’s report praised Ukraine’s efforts to maintain democratic institutions and the separation of powers during wartime, while also calling for steps to address what it described as a deterioration in relations between the legislative and executive branches, the European Parliament said.
MEPs welcomed progress on judicial reform and anti-corruption efforts, while calling for further work including transparent appointments for judicial office holders and keeping anti-corruption bodies free from political interference.
The report also called for continued measures to support freedom of expression and media independence.
On future elections, MEPs said time should be taken to meet conditions for free and fair polls once martial law is lifted, and rejected pressure on Ukraine to hold elections while the war continues.
The committee reiterated its view that Russia must pay for the damage caused in Ukraine, and called for predictable, multi-year EU financial support to help cover recovery and defence costs.
The text welcomed the EU’s recently approved support loan for Ukraine, while regretting that the European Commission and the Council did not agree to use cash balances linked to Russian sovereign assets, calling for continued work on the technical and legal aspects.
The report’s rapporteur, German MEP Michael Gahler, said Ukraine was resisting aggression while pursuing reforms linked to EU membership.
The report will next be put to a vote in the full European Parliament.
