Sanctions and war tribunal on the agenda of EU ministers

Politiko 2025-05-05 12:29:10

European Union (EU) foreign ministers will gather in Warsaw this week for an informal council meeting, then head to Lviv in a show of solidarity with Ukraine ahead of major Victory Day celebrations in Russia. Few concrete steps are expected to be taken either in Poland on May 7 and 8 or a day later in the western Ukrainian city, as these are not official EU councils.

"In keeping with the informal nature of the meeting, and given the more intimate [ministers only] nature of the gathering, we encourage everyone's contribution to a truly open and unplanned discussion ," reads a welcome letter for the Warsaw meeting, which was seen by Radio Free Europe.

"In this spirit, we recommend that our working sessions be conducted without translation and without electronic devices. Please also feel free to choose semi-formal attire during the meeting," the letter states.

But the informal nature does not mean the meetings will be devoid of high-level officials. They will be held at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to attract the world's attention with a massive military parade in front of dozens of world leaders. On the first day of the Warsaw meeting, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will join discussions on European security, while the second day is dedicated to EU-US relations and the situation in Ukraine.

On the second issue, the welcome letter, signed by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and host Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, proposes an “in-depth discussion” on the EU’s role in strengthening Ukraine’s negotiating position for a “just and lasting peace.” Officials will seek to achieve this, the letter says, by “leveraging our unique collective strengths – broad support for Ukraine, in particular financial and military, pressure to limit Russia’s funding of the war, Ukraine’s path towards EU membership, and ongoing work towards strengthening European defense capabilities.”

While no concrete decisions are expected, there are three developments related to Ukraine that analysts say will be watched with interest. The EU is aiming to allocate more money to Ukraine's defense industry, although the figure has not yet been agreed. The bloc is also expected to accelerate sanctions on Russia, after multiple missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.

A smaller package of sanctions is expected, EU diplomats said, which would mainly include blacklisting more Russian officials and politicians, as well as banning other Russian-linked ships from calling at European ports. The meeting in Lviv is expected to take place as ministers take part in the establishment of a special tribunal aimed at prosecuting Russian and Belarusian leaders over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The tribunal is intended to complement the International Criminal Court's (ICC) ongoing investigation into war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, which began three years ago. It will fill the gaps, as the ICC is not investigating what are legally known as "crimes of aggression" - such as military occupation, annexation and bombing.

A so-called core group of countries, including all EU member states except Hungary and Slovakia, as well as the G7 without the United States, have drafted three documents for an agreement with Ukraine to establish the tribunal. But the tribunal will not be established until the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe votes on it in June. The EU and Kiev have been collecting evidence on crimes of aggression since 2023./REL