Stoltenberg meets with Parliament leaders

The European Parliament welcomed Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, to the Conference of Presidents of the political parties today. Stoltenberg, the MEP’s and Roberta Metsola met to talk about NATO’s collaboration with the EU and their mutual priorities for the defence of Ukraine.

“We see the importance of further stepping up our support to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. “NATO-EU cooperation has always been important, but especially now. When our core values, democracy, the rule of law, the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, [are] challenged by the brutal Russian invasion, it is more important than ever for NATO and the European Union to stand together.” 

Both European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Stoltenberg expressed the responsibility of the EU and NATO to collaborate in their mission to support Ukraine. Metsola visited Kyiv a few weeks ago, reporting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for more military support and more effective humanitarian and financial assistance. Metsola also expressed support for strengthening the current sanctions against Russia. 

The need to strengthen sanctions comes as the EU deals with problems getting the gas they need. On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a declaration which forces European gas companies to jump through hoops to pay for Russian gas. Those hoops would make the companies violate EU sanctions by allowing the Russian Central Bank to access those payments directly by letting them exchange the currency from Euros to Rubles.

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