Anti-Corruption Foundation

EU-Russia relations have become increasingly strained over the past decade, not least because of the country's 2014 annexation of Crimea. The Kremlin’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s military intervention in Syria have only exacerbated matters. Another source of tension is Russia’s disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks, as well as attempts to interfere in Western democratic processes.

Arrest of Alexei Navalny

• Having recovered from a near-fatal poisoning last year, opposition leader Navalny was detained on his return to Russia on 17 January.
• Speaking during a Facebook live interview on 27 January 2021, Urmas Paet, the vice-chair of Parliaments foreign affairs committee, called for sanctions against those who have direct responsibility for the arrest and harassment of Alexei Navalny.
• In a resolution adopted four days following the arrest, Parliament called for significantly tighter EU sanctions against Russia, as well as for the immediate and unconditional release of Navalny and of all those detained in relation to his return to Moscow.

EU sanctions against Russia

• Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, EU economic sanctions target Russias financial, defence and energy sectors.
• Before Christmas, EU leaders unanimously decided to extend the sanctions until 31 July 2021.
• The measures, which are renewed twice a year, have hit Russia hard: by late 2018, its economy was thought to be 6% smaller due to EU and US sanctions.
• The EU also imposed sanctions on Russian officials in response to Navalny's poisoning.

Echoes of Belarus

• Speaking in the same interview, Andrius Kubilius, one of Parliament's lead MEPs on Russia, described sanctions as an effective tool.
• Kubilius said that tens of thousands of Russians had braved beatings, arrests and temperatures of -50 to protest the arrest of Navalny.
• He also spoke of the echoes of Belarus in recent developments inside Russia: Lukashenko tried to steal the Belarusian presidential election and it is very clear that the Kremlin regime is trying to steal the Duma elections.
• That is why we are condemning the Kremlins autocratic behaviour.

Nord Stream 2

• Controversy over the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline has highlighted the countrys leverage as the Unions main energy supplier.
• In the 21 January resolution, MEPs called on the EU to immediately stop work on the controversial pipeline, which would link Germany directly to Russia.
• Paet expressed his hope that EU ministers would take Parliaments position seriously and said that the Nord Stream 2 project violates the EUs common energy security policy.

No longer a "strategic partner"

• In March 2019, a European Parliament resolution stated that Russia could no longer be considered a strategic partner.
• However, despite the tensions, there are many areas where both the EU and Russia have common interests and concerns.
• The EU is still by far Moscow's biggest trade and investment partner (accounting for 42% of Russian exports in 2019).

• This includes sanctioning the individuals and legal entities involved in the decision to arrest and imprison Alexei Navalny, they say.
• Sanctions should also be imposed against Russian oligarchs linked to the regime, members of President Putins inner circle and Russian media propagandists, who possess assets in the EU and can currently travel there.
• Additional restrictive measures could also be taken under the new EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
• More information

  MEPs and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell also discussed the case of Alexei Navalny on Tuesday 19 January.

• The European Union condemns the detention of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny upon his return to Moscow on 17 January and calls for his immediate release.
• Politicisation of the judiciary is unacceptable and Mr Navalnys rights must be respected.
• We also call upon the Russian authorities to immediately release all those journalists and citizens who have been detained in connection to their reporting of, and support of, Mr Navalny upon his return.
• The EU will follow closely the developments in this field and will continue to take this into account when shaping its policy towards Russia.

• Mr Navalny is one of Russias most high-profile opposition politicians, an anti-corruption activist and an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin.
• He collapsed on 20 August whilst aboard a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow.
• Following the attack, Mr Navalny was airlifted to Germany for medical treatment and recovered from the assassination attempt.
• Participating via videoconference, Mr Navalny will be joined by:

  More information

  On 17 September, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny.