Βy Roberta Metsola
President of the European Parliament
Εurope today is at a turning point.
With Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, war has returned to our continent. Terror, death and destruction have consumed the once peaceful cities of Ukraine, as Putin’s indiscriminate military targeting knows no bounds. Many of us thought these scenes would remain confined in the pages of our history books. However, we are once again seeing people forced to flee their own country in numbers not experienced since World War II.
Yet, while Putin believes he has - by all accounts - the upper hand, he will not win.
He will not win because the Ukrainian citizens continue to demonstrate unbelievable bravery in their resistance towards autocracy. They have far too much to lose.
He will not win because Russian and Belarusian citizens have seen through the lies and are voicing their opposition to a war that will ruin. They deem the risks worthwhile.
He will not win because the Europe that we have today is about tearing down walls and building bridges, not about separation and spheres of interest. We know how much our predecessors fought to get us here.
This war is about much more than what Putin is trying to portray it as. When Putin chose to invade Ukraine, he wanted to attack the very nature of our European way of life. This is why we need to defend it. This is why we need to defend Ukraine.
The European Parliament, the House of European Democracy, has stood and will continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine. By our rallying together, by adopting massive, unprecedented, economic sanctions against Putin and his allies, by our provision of military equipment to Ukraine, by providing space for Ukrainian civil society to operate from the premises of the European Parliament, by our welcoming of those who are fleeing tanks - we are showing that our commitment goes beyond statements and resolutions.
A month ago, none of us wanted to believe that peace in Europe could be shattered. These last few decades, we had grown comfortable in a certain assurance that democracy would prevail. Europe’s role in a rapidly evolving world is changing and this war is accelerating the urgency for Europe to reassess its role and priorities. It is time we take a different approach.
Firstly, Europe needs to reduce its dependency on the Kremlin for its energy needs. It is simply unacceptable for Europe to indirectly fund the bombs that are raining down on Ukraine. Our target must be towards a future of zero gas from Russia. This is ambitious but it is necessary. That means massively re-investing in renewables and diversifying our energy supplies.
Secondly, we need to boost our investment in defence and in innovative technologies to continue to build a real Security and Defence Union. Here we must look again at our common EU budget to see where improvements can be made. The threat we face is real. We must step up our response.
Thirdly, we need to talk more about food security. This must become part and parcel of our discussions on Europe’s strategic autonomy. Our supply lines must be more solid. Our farmers must need more support and must be more incentivised.
Fourthly, what we have seen so far in terms of European coordination, solidarity and unity is unprecedented - and must be the blueprint for us going forward.
Putin’s war on Ukraine, and how we choose to respond to it, will define our European future. Together, we can secure a future rooted in peace, freedom and democracy for ourselves and our children.
Long live Ukraine.
Long live Europe.
