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The European Union has always been a staunch supporter of the Ukrainian cause, recognising it as a struggle for the defence of a sovereign people against the aggressive and expansionist ambitions of Vladimir Putin, driven by neo-colonialist and neo-imperialist motives. Europe, in unity with its Member States, has always maintained a clear and unwavering principle: there is an aggressor to resist and a sovereign state to defend. This principle goes beyond mere political support; it entails a commitment to uphold international law, which unequivocally condemns any form of violence or coercion against a sovereign nation. The EU’s position is not just about supporting Ukraine; it is about defending the fundamental values of freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international order.
This position is shared and strongly advocated by the ECR, the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament. The ECR has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s right to self-determination and has insisted on a firm and unequivocal stance from all its members. The Group’s support for Ukraine is rooted in a wider commitment to oppose any form of aggression that threatens the stability and security of Europe. ECR members have consistently called for a robust response to Russian aggression, stressing that any peace process must ensure a just and equitable settlement that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and the principles of international law. This means not only repelling the aggressor, but also ensuring that Ukraine emerges from the conflict in a position of strength, able to secure its future and prevent further encroachments on its sovereignty. The ECR has made it clear that any party or individual wishing to join its ranks must align themselves with this unequivocal support for Ukraine, leaving no room for ambiguity or hesitation in the face of such clear aggression.
In short, supporting Ukraine today is one of the main prerogatives for being fully part of Europe and the Western world: every time one shows hesitation about this position, the only one who really benefits is Vladimir Putin, with his media campaign of disinformation that not only affects Russia within its borders, but also infiltrates our social networks and news sites: Let us not forget the disinformation campaign unveiled by the Finnish software and methodology company Check First, in which Russian hackers and accounts, obviously fake and anonymous, sent equally fake news sources to Europe, with the sole purpose that news agencies and news channels would disseminate this news, even if only assuming its veracity, based on the concept of “all publicity is good publicity”. Any reluctance on the part of Western parties to support Ukraine therefore helps Russian propaganda to spread and Vladimir Putin to play his game in Europe.
The European Conservatives have therefore been an integral part of this project of strong and unquestioning EU support for Ukraine. This is also why the first document of the new Parliament, elected a few weeks ago after the vote on 9 June, was chosen, probably also with a strong symbolic value, as the topic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Parliament’s website, the text “reaffirms MEPs’ continued support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders”. It also “calls on the EU to maintain and extend its sanctions policy against Russia and Belarus, to monitor and review its effectiveness and impact, and to systematically address the issue of sanctions evasion by EU-based companies, third parties and third countries”. The resolution is not decisive, but its strength is also reflected in the majority achieved in the vote: 495 MEPs voted in favour, 137 against and 47 abstained. It also mentions “unwavering support to provide political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic assistance for as long as necessary to ensure Ukraine’s victory” and refers to the “legitimate right of self-defence”. Among the last acts of the last legislature, therefore, we find the 14th package of sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Council on the government in Moscow: a rather broad package that touched on various issues such as transport, exports and party financing. A package that was extended, as stated by the Cabinet of Heads of State and Government of the Member States, to a further “116 individuals and entities responsible for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.
It touched on the issue of Russian gas in several places, for example by banning the reloading of Russian LNG in the EU for transhipment to third countries, the financing of the construction and completion of LNG projects, ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transhipment and reloading. Anti-circumvention clauses also appeared, such as the one requiring “EU parent companies to use their best endeavours to ensure that their third-country subsidiaries do not engage in any activity that would lead to a result that the sanctions seek to prevent”, or the one banning the re-export of war material found in Ukraine, which would be crucial for the development of Moscow’s war industry. Finally, other measures include bans on Russian funding of political parties, political foundations, NGOs, think tanks and media and information service providers within the EU (while still guaranteeing freedom of information, the press and thought), or new measures to counter Putin’s so-called shadow fleet, which supports the Russian advance through deceptive practices towards EU member states.
All this, of course, is to say that Conservative and EU support for the Ukrainian cause has never been lacking. And now it has reached very high levels. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated the Union’s pro-Kiev stance and announced the achievement of an important first: ‘The EU,’ the German wrote on X, ‘has stood by Ukraine since the first day of Russia’s war of aggression. Together with our member states, we have provided support to the tune of some 108 billion euros’. In other words, Europe has spent 108 billion euros on Ukraine: a sum that has enabled Kiev to resist the advance of an army that, initially and on paper, was numerically and materially superior. In this way, Ukraine has become a bulwark for the security of Europe’s borders: its counter-offensive against Vladimir Putin’s troops is keeping the war away from the borders of the European Union, and every day it is reducing the Russian leader’s strong desire to reconquer (as he has repeatedly announced) the countries of the former Soviet Union, many of which are now fully sovereign states, which, like Kiev, refuse to be subordinated to a third state, and some of which are already part of the European Union. Ukraine,” von der Leyen added, “will win this fight for survival. And the EU will stand by Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes.
The ECR conservatives remain crucial in this context. Not only because they are a key part of the votes that the Europarliament casts in favour of and in support of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, but also because as the race for the White House heats up, with Donald Trump currently leading in the polls over his challenger Kamala Harris, Ecr members can indeed create a very important bridge of dialogue across the Atlantic, uniting the European leadership and the American Republicans. On the other hand, former US President Trump has already expressed his position in favour of a rapid resolution of the conflict, but only if Europe plays its part: his exhortations to the EU to do more and devote more resources to the Ukrainian cause are genuine appeals for seriousness. The European Conservatives in the ECR will therefore clearly remain crucial in this regard, and their historically pro-Atlantic alliance stance will be a point in Kiev’s favour.