We asked 13 MEPs why they voted no to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine

From a TV display above the plenary of the European Parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an impassioned name for Europe to show that it supported his invaded nation.

Earlier, parliamentarians had stood at their desks applauding Ukraine and sporting blue and yellow flags. Exterior the parliament, Ukrainians and their supporters maintained a loud vigil.

Sat at a desk sporting a t-shirt, Zelenskyy’s speech was so shifting that even the parliament’s translator was choked with tears. After a debate, MEPs had been then requested to vote on a decision that known as on Russia to stop the violence and condemned the warfare Vladimir Putin had began.

An enormous majority – 637 MEPs – from the far left to the far proper, from Romania to Portugal to Finland, united and voted sure.

Mick Wallace voted no.

“A lot of the decision is essential and crucial,” Wallace instructed Euronews on Wednesday.

“It accurately condemns Russian aggression and requires humanitarian help for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. These are phrases we wholeheartedly help.”

However a lot of it, Wallace mentioned, was not. It known as for the strengthening of NATO’s ahead army presence, a dramatic improve in defence spending and the strengthening of the European pillar inside NATO. It requires the substitute of Russian with American oil, extracted by way of fracking.

“We sought to take away these parts from the decision, however the majority within the European Parliament has voted to maintain them. We are actually requested to vote on the textual content as a complete, which incorporates these provisions. We’re against warfare, and we’re against this decision.”

Wallace wasn’t alone in opposing the decision on Tuesday, six others from the parliament’s Left group additionally voted no: Clare Daly, Özlem Demirel, Sandra Pereira, João Pimenta Lopes, Martin Schirdewan, Miguel City Crespo.

However equally, it was not a celebration platform, French MEP Manon Aubry, and co-chair of the Left, was one of many sponsors of the invoice.

Aubry instructed Euronews that six amendments to the invoice that “considerably improved the textual content”, together with including the decision for a direct ceasefire, higher involvement for the United Nations and OSCE and calling for refugees to be welcomed, had been added after an intervention from the Left.

“I co-signed the preliminary textual content and voted the ultimate textual content as co-chair of the group as a result of I needed to ship a transparent political message denouncing Putin’s irresponsible aggression and supporting the Ukrainian folks,” she mentioned.

“Different delegations determined to abstain or vote in opposition to the textual content as a result of they needed to insist on the danger of a worldwide warfare on the continent if the EU enters the vicious circle of army escalation.”

Irish MEP Daly mentioned she voted in opposition to the decision as a result of it requires rising weapons provide to Ukraine, one thing that can “solely make the scenario worse”.

“The one approach by which the battle will be ended is thru peace talks and negotiation. Throwing in additional weapons into the scenario merely places petrol on the fireplace,” Daly instructed Euronews.

“It’s actually regrettable that NATO and the US and the EU should not supporting the thought of an internationally brokered peace settlement. That is the one resolution. Paradoxically it’s only the Chinese language placing this ahead now, however that is the one approach.”

German MEP Demirel additionally instructed Euronews that the decision would solely “pour oil on the fireplace” of the battle, and accused European Fee President Ursula Von der Leyen of utilizing the scenario – together with Zelenskyy’s speech – of an excuse to push ahead a wider agenda: reworking the EU “right into a tangible and highly effective army union,” she mentioned.

“I feel it’s cynical to abuse the struggling of the Ukrainians for one thing like this. The peoples in Ukraine, of Europe and the world wish to stay in peace and social safety.”

Spanish MEP Crespo mentioned that whereas he “completely condemned Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”, the decision would solely escalate the scenario. “Confronted with two giants placing on the desk an increasing number of weapons, extra missiles and starting to threaten with nuclear weapons, the one approach out is to demand to go all of the methods to peace. In any other case, it’ll solely result in loss of life and destruction,” he mentioned.

Schirdewan responded by way of a spokesperson with an announcement by the German Die Linke delegation, which mentioned that though it condemned Russia’s invasions as a “blatant breach of worldwide regulation”, it was in opposition to sending arms to Ukraine.

“The supposed supply of deadly tools to the Ukrainian military price 450 million euros finally means the ultimate departure from the frequent place of the EU arms export directives, which prohibit arms exports to warfare and disaster zones. These arms exports are a breach of taboo in European international coverage,” it mentioned.

‘An imperialist warfare’

Some who had been in opposition to the decision, nevertheless, went additional.

In an announcement, two of the non-aligned members of the parliament who voted no, Kostas Papadakis and Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos mentioned that the Communist Get together of Greece (KKE) condemned “the imperialist warfare, which is the results of the imperialist competitors for spheres of affect and wealth-producing sources that the decision enhances, as it’s shifting within the harmful path of escalating the imperialist competitors with EU-NATO army tools and sanctions.

“Condemning capitalist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is mixed with condemning the US-NATO-EU warfare crimes in opposition to the peoples of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. Peoples shouldn’t select an imperialist.”

Lopes and Pereira, who responded to Euronews by way of a spokesperson, echoed that view.

Of their assertion, the Portuguese Communist Get together members accused the European Union and NATO of supporting a coup d’etat in Ukraine in 2014, described the Russian invasion as a “army intervention” and echoed the Kremlin’s line that Ukraine was managed by fascist forces. It accused NATO and the EU – though, notably, not Moscow – of “war-mongering”.

Wallace, in the meantime, instructed Euronews that his voting report on the difficulty to be misrepresented, and whereas he voted in opposition to the decision, he and fellow Irish MEP Daly had persistently condemned warfare, wherever it was.

“We’ll proceed to oppose each Russian aggression and the militarisation of Europe, which aren’t within the pursuits of Ukrainians, Russians, Europeans, or anybody else,” he mentioned.