European Parliament building in Strasbourg. File photoBRUSSELS, Jun 8Members of the European Parliament at the plenary session in Strasbourg called on the EU to abandon unanimous decision-making on foreign policy and security issues in favor of approving important issues by a majority vote, which will allow the union to quickly agree on, for example, the imposition of sanctions against third countries. Voting on sanctions requires unanimous decisions of all EU member states. Last week, after weeks of wrangling, the EU enacted a sixth anti-Russian sanctions package. The approval of new sanctions was slowed down by Hungary, which opposed the oil embargo.The European Parliament called on the EU to continue supporting Ukraine with weapons»The agreement on the sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia was another confirmation that it is necessary to review the decision-making process of the Council of the European Union. We need political will to make foreign policy decisions through qualified majority voting. This would increase efficiency common foreign and security policy of the EU,» the European Parliament said in a statement. Since the end of February, the EU has introduced six packages of sanctions against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. Restrictive measures apply to 1158 individuals and 98 organizations. Inclusion in the EU sanctions list means a ban on entry into the EU countries, freezing of assets on the territory of the union. Citizens and organizations in the European Union are prohibited from transferring funds to those on the list. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy for the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. Putin also said that the United States and the European Union had effectively defaulted on their obligations to Russia, freezing its foreign exchange reserves. He added that the current events draw a line under the global domination of the West both in politics and in the economy. EU
