European Parliament passes resolution condemning Navalny arrest News
Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
European Parliament passes resolution condemning Navalny arrest

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling for the release of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, urging the EU to impose restrictions against those involved in the arrest, and insisting EU halt completion of Nord Stream 2.

The resolution comes after Navalny was arrested on Sunday when arriving in Moscow following recovery from poisoning that occurred last August. The European Parliament initiated debate on Tuesday following the arrest and subsequently adopted the nonbinding resolution on Thursday with 581 votes in favour, 50 against, and 44 abstentions.

The resolution:

  1. Calls for the release of Navalny and “all other persons detained in relation to his return to Russia”
  2. Condemns, “in the strongest possible terms,” Russia’s behaviour, finding the detention against its “international commitments”
  3. Urges EU member states to “significantly strengthen the EU’s restrictive measures vis-à-vis Russia” by sanctioning all those involved in the arrest
  4. Requests the EU and its member states “critically review cooperation with Russia” on projects such as Nord Stream 2, on which completion must “stop immediately.”

The resolution ends by urging the EU to “take advantage of the change of administration in Washington to strengthen transatlantic unity in protecting democracy and fundamental values against authoritarian regimes.”