The European Parliament called on the member countries of the European Union to increase and speed up military support for Ukraine, supporting the proposal to allocate 0.25% of their GDP annually for this.

The corresponding resolution was voted on Thursday in Strasbourg as part of a plenary meeting of the European Parliament. Some 451 MEPs voted in favour, while 46 MEPs against and 49 abstained. A total of 546 MEPs took part in the voting.

"[The European Parliament] Reaffirms its support for consistently providing military aid to Ukraine for as long as necessary and in whatever form necessary for Ukraine to win; recognises the efforts made by the Member States in providing and by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) in coordinating military support to Ukraine to date; reiterates its call on the Member States to substantially increase and accelerate their military support, in particular the provision of weapons and ammunition in response to clearly identified needs, with a view to not only allowing Ukraine to defend itself against Russian attacks, but also to enabling it to regain full control over its entire internationally recognised territory; underlines that the insufficient and delayed delivery of weapons and ammunition risks undermining the efforts made so far; expresses concern that the target of 1 million rounds of ammunition will not be met as promised; calls on the Member States and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to present to Parliament information about past deliveries of military aid to Ukraine, including the audit conducted by the EEAS, and the amount of aid Member States are willing to commit during 2024," according to the resolution.

The European Parliament also expressed the view that there should be no "self-imposed restriction" on military aid to Ukraine and pointed to the huge difference in military support provided by EU member states as a percentage of their GDP. "[EP] calls for the necessary investment in the European defence industrial base so as to substantially increase output in order to meet Ukrainian needs and replenish EU Member States’ depleted stocks; underlines that Ukraine is in particular need of sophisticated air-defence systems, long-range missiles such as TAURUS, Storm Shadow/SCALP and others, modern combat aircraft, various types of artillery and ammunition (155 mm in particular), drones and weapons to counter them," the resolution details.

In addition, the European Parliament expressed support for the proposal that all EU member states and NATO allies support Ukraine militarily with at least 0.25% of their GDP annually. "[EP] calls for an overall increase in the financial ceiling of the European Peace Facility and insists that this should be used, among other things, for the single source procurement of available ammunition on the world market to meet Ukraine’s needs; urges the governments of the Member States to immediately enter into dialogue with defence companies in order to guarantee that the production and delivery of, in particular, ammunition, shells and missiles for Ukraine are prioritised over orders from other third countries; calls for the EU and its Member States to explore the possibilities for joint ventures and close cooperation with defence industries from like-minded third countries for the purposes of providing the necessary ammunition to Ukraine; urges in particular the largest Member States with substantial defence industrial capacities to significantly and urgently increase military assistance to Ukraine; calls on the US House of Representatives to adopt the military assistance package for Ukraine without any further delay," according to the document.

The European Parliament also welcomed the signing of security agreements between Ukraine and the UK, Germany, France, Denmark and Italy in accordance with the G7 joint declaration on support for Ukraine and calls on other like-minded partners to follow suit. "[EP] underlines that these security agreements cannot be considered a substitute for future NATO membership; welcomes the progress made on the practical details and financial ceiling for a new Ukraine Assistance Fund, under the European Peace Facility, which would support the provision of military equipment to Ukraine through joint European procurement initiatives," according to the resolution.

Addressing the issue of Russian responsibility, the European Parliament reiterated its call on the European Commission, the High Representative and Member States to work together with Ukraine and the international community to establish a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute crimes of aggression committed against Ukraine by Russian leaders and their allies such as the regime in Belarus.

The European Parliament also called on Ukraine to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and its amendments and formally become a member of the ICC in order to "support international efforts to establish accountability for serious international crimes."

The European Parliament demanded that Russia and Belarus return children deported from Ukraine. “The continued forced relocation and deportation of Ukrainian children, including those from institutions, to Russia and Belarus and their forced adoption by Russian families is in breach of Ukrainian and international law; underlines that forcibly transferring children of a group to another group constitutes the crime of genocide, according to Article II of the Genocide Convention; demands that the Russian and Belarusian authorities ensure the immediate return of all Ukrainian children; praises the efforts of local Ukrainian organisations that, on a case-by-case basis, support parents and families in searching for their children and fighting for their safe return," according to the resolution.

The European Parliament also condemned Russia's intention to hold presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on March 15-17 and noted that it does not recognize the results of these illegal elections.