The European Parliament has called on the European Union and its member states to start preparing personal sanctions on traveling, asset and property freezes for all Ukrainian "officials, legislators and their business sponsors (oligarchs)" who are responsible for crackdowns on and deaths of protesters.

The European Parliament voted for a respective resolution on the situation in Ukraine at a plenary meeting on Thursday.

Before the vote, the European Parliament held a debate on this issue on Wednesday, during which MEPs slammed the Ukrainian authorities.

"[The EP] calls on the EU institutions and member states to take immediate actions, including increased diplomatic pressure and the preparation of personalized targeted measures and sanctions on traveling, [as well as] asset and property freezes of all those Ukrainian officials, legislators and their business sponsors (oligarchs) who are responsible for crackdowns on and deaths of protestors, and to step up efforts so as to stop money laundering and tax evasion of Ukrainian companies and businessmen in European banks," reads clause 14 of a joint resolution put together by all the political groups in the European Parliament, which was made available to Interfax-Ukraine.

At the same time, the European Parliament calls on the European Union, the United States, the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD and the European Investment Bank "to continue to prepare a long-term package of concrete financial support to help Ukraine tackle its worsening financial and social situation and provide economic support to launch the necessary deep and comprehensive reforms of the Ukrainian economy by the government."

At the same time, the EP "welcomes and supports the ongoing work of the European Union and the United States to create a substantial short-term support package for Ukraine, which should be offered to a credible new interim government to alleviate the present tight situation in respect to payments."

The resolution includes 22 clauses.

In the first clause, the European Parliament expresses its full solidarity and support for efforts to achieve a free, democratic, independent Ukraine, and its European prospects.

In the second clause, the EP expresses its deep concern over the serious political crisis in Ukraine and the violent confrontations in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine.

"[The EP] strongly calls for a political solution of the crisis and insists on a truly democratic debate on the ways and means to overcome the confrontation and divisions in the country," the resolution reads.

In the third clause of the resolution, the parliament strongly condemns the escalation of violence, expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the violence in Ukraine; and calls on the Ukrainian authorities to fully respect the people's civil rights and fundamental freedoms and "to take immediate steps to end the state of impunity, investigating and punishing the authors of violence against peaceful protestors."

"[The EP] calls on the Maidan protestors to refrain from the use of force to maintain the legitimacy of their cause in a peaceful way, and asks all the opposition leaders to continue to refrain from unprovoked violence and keep the protest peaceful," the fourth clause of the document reads.

In the fifth clause, MEPs express their concern by the excessive use of violence by the security forces, the so called "titushki" and the violent actions of ultranationalists.

The document also contains a demand that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych should "cease the shameful deployment of Berkut riot police and other security forces for provocations, kidnapping, harassment, torturing, beating and humiliating supporters of Euromaidans." In this respect, the EP points out the most recent case of Dmytro Bulatov, the leader of Automaidan, who was kidnapped and tortured, and stresses Ukraine's international commitments.

The EP also calls on the Ukrainian president to order to stop these practices and demands the immediate and unconditional release and the political rehabilitation of all the demonstrators and political prisoners illegally detained, including Yulia Tymoshenko.

"[The EP] calls for the setting up of an independent investigative committee under the auspicious of a recognized international body, such as the Council of Europe, in order to investigate all the human rights violations that took place since the beginning of the demonstrations," the resolution reads.

The document reconfirms the EU's readiness to sign the Association Agreement with Ukraine as soon as the political crisis is overcome and relevant requirements are met as defined by the Foreign Affairs Council in December 2012 and supported by the European Parliament's resolution dated December 13, 2012.

It also welcomes the Verkhovna Rada's decision to repeal the anti-protest laws and their endorsement by the Ukrainian president, as a positive step towards the political resolution of the crisis. The EP, however, expresses its regret "that the amnesty law turning victims into hostages was approved on January 29 without the consent of the opposition; takes the view that an unconditional release of protesters would greatly facilitate the talks and appease the society."

The resolution contains a call on Ukraine's president and government to seriously engage in an inclusive dialogue with the opposition, civil society and the Maidan protesters to de-escalate the tense and polarized situation and to find ways to overcome the current political and societal crisis in Ukraine through peaceful means.

The eleventh clause reminds President Yanukovych of his responsibility to the Ukrainian people and the international community to refrain from using repressive methods, to remedy the current political crisis, and to respect the right of peaceful protest.

Another clause is dedicated to the EU's continued engagement to mediate and facilitate a process "leading to a de-escalation, a more constructive political dialogue in the country and a solution to the crisis as well as bridging the gap of total lack of trust" and underlines that such a dialogue must be transparent and with the full participation of Euromaidan and civil society.

The resolution next calls for the establishment of a permanent ad hoc mission of the European Parliament in Ukraine "with a view to defusing tension and facilitating the dialogue between the parties."

The authors of the resolution also believe that one of the important solutions for resolving the crisis in Ukraine is the return to the Constitution of 2004.

The EP also urges the EU institutions and member states to commit to a broad opening towards Ukrainian society, in particular "through a swift agreement on a cost-free visa regime and ultimately a visa-free regime."

"[The EP] is of the opinion that the visa fee should be immediately drastically reduced for Ukrainian youth," the document reads.

The authors of the resolution also consider that further efforts should be made to include Ukraine in the EU's energy market via the Energy Community.

Clause 20 includes the calls on Russia "to adopt a constructive attitude and stop retaliatory measures and undue pressure aimed at undermining the sovereign right of its neighbors to determine freely their future; urges the EU and its member states to speak to Russia with one voice in support of the European aspirations of the Eastern Partnership countries that freely choose to deepen their relations with the EU; applying political, economic and other coercion is in breach of the Helsinki Final Act and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum concerning Ukraine's security; reminds that both EU and Russia bear responsibility to contribute actively towards peace and prosperity in the common neighborhood benefits both the EU and Russia; reiterates its belief that cooperation to achieve this goal is the only way forward."

In clause 21 of the document, the EP expresses its support for the further involvement of civil society in national reform processes; encourages enhanced interparliamentary cooperation with the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly; and welcomes the involvement of the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Eastern Partnership.

In the last clause, the EP instructs its president to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy, the member states, the president of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, the Verkhovna Rada, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

One should also note two clauses of the resolution, one of which says that "despite international pressure, the Ukrainian authorities continue to pursue a policy of intimidation, repression, torture and violence against protesters resulting in more than 2,000 people injured, many abducted and at least six people killed." This clause was written by the groups of the European People's Party and Greens in the EP.

Also, the preamble of the resolution contains a clause saying that any forceful crackdown or declaration of state of emergency "will be considered as a criminal act and a violation of fundamental rights with profound international consequences." This clause was written by the group of the European People's Party in the EP.