For the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, peace in Ukraine is only acceptable if it is grounded in international law – in full respect of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty. Until now, none of this has happened.

In a plenary session debate in Strasbourg, in the presence of President von der Leyen, on the recent events in relation to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the EU engagement towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, the progressives called on the EU to assume more responsibility for security on the European continent; to support Ukraine in the most determined way and to move towards proactive engagement for peace in Ukraine. They also recall that a ceasefire is the first necessary step towards sustainable peace, and that negotiations should be backed by all global partners.

During her speech, the president of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García, stressed that the loss of territory, limitations on the Ukrainian army, and the ban on joining NATO are unacceptable conditions for any peace talks. Moreover, she added that peace should come hand in hand with the reconstruction of Ukraine and urged – to this end – the use of the frozen Russian assets.

Iratxe García, S&D Group leader, said:

“Trump and Putin's misnamed peace plan is not a peace plan: it is a capitulation plan. It is a direct attack on the United Nations Charter, and it tramples on sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

“It is unacceptable to force Ukraine to give up Donbas and Crimea. It is unacceptable to limit its army to 600,000 troops. It is unacceptable to prohibit it from joining NATO. And it is deeply unacceptable that Trump intends to benefit from frozen Russian assets at the expense of the European Union.

“The European Union should have acted sooner. Two years of inaction, failing to use frozen Russian assets to finance a repair loan to rebuild Ukraine and strengthen its defence, now allowing Trump to present himself as the owner of assets that can only belong to the victim: the Ukrainian people. This is unacceptable.  Submit the proposal now, without further delay.

“We must also allow Ukraine to exercise its legitimate defence with long-range weapons to strike military targets on Russian territory and strengthen sanctions, including a ban on Russian oil imports in January and gas imports at the end of 2026. The end of this story cannot be Trump acquitting Putin; the end must be Putin sitting in the dock at the International Criminal Court.”