MEP Ijabs calls for a sanctions package to be prepared in case of an attack on an EU member state

RIGA - In order to deter any aggressor from attacking any of the European Union (EU) member states, European Parliament Member Ivars Ijabs (For Latvia's Development) calls for an agreement on a preventive package of EU sanctions in case of emergency, the politician's office informed LETA.

In an official letter to the EU Commissioner and High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, the MEP stresses that an effective sanctions package in the event of an aggressor attack should come into force automatically, so as not to waste time in negotiation processes.

Ijabs stresses that a preventive sanctions package would be a security investment for the EU, as it would make clear the bloc's readiness to defend any European member state in exceptional circumstances. He believes that the case of Ukraine shows that the EU needs to make sure that it does not allow people like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to block the negotiating process and drag out the clock when every minute counts.

"If we want sanctions to be really effective, they must be agreed now and, in the event of aggression, they must come into force immediately," the MEP stressed.

The package proposed by Ijabs includes individual sanctions against those responsible for an attack on an EU member state, restrictions on the financial transactions and economic activities of the aggressor country, as well as the suspension of all trade agreements and diplomatic relations.

"This can be seen as a kind of 'sanctions bomb' that would await any aggressor who dared to violate an EU member state," notes Ijabs.

The politician has sent this offer in an official letter to the EU Commissioner, High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Borrelr, asking him to urgently develop a pre-emptive package of sanctions for exceptional circumstances.