Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, the European Parliament President Roberta Mestola (EPP) has convened a meeting of national parliament speakers to coordinate the European response.
The speakers of national parliaments would meet alongside the Ukrainian parliament, President Verkhovna Rada.
“I have called for a summit of all the speakers of all the national parliaments of the European member states, with our colleague, the President of the parliament of Ukraine Verhoef Narada,” Metsola told journalists on 4 March, adding that the meeting was to take place at approximately 10:30 am.
The parliaments would “discuss the follow-up of all the measures that have been taken at the European Union level,” she told journalists when asked by EURACTIV.
“Whether within the European Commission, the council, but also in the parliament, political, logistical and aid but also how to make sure that in all our national parliaments, the sentiment the messages are the same.”
As the war in Ukraine rages on and some European states are calling for stricter sanctions against Russia, the ad-hoc convening of national parliament may imply there’s something afoot in Brussels.
As the removal of some of the Russian banking system from the global financial framework SWIFT has yet to be extended to some of the country’s largest financial institutions, there may be movement in Brussels to tie yet another package of sanctions.
“We, the European Parliament, are for a full de-SWIFTing of the Russian banks,” she added.
While Mestola was in Marseille to attend a summit of the European regions and cities, the national parliament meeting was added to her agenda last minute on Thursday (3 March), a source told EURACTIV.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
