EU condemns Russia as a "terror sponsor" - German leader of the left explains: "That's why I voted against"

Created: 2022-12-06 05:41

By: Andreas Schmid

The EU classifies Russia as a "terror sponsor".

What does the decision to hold diplomatic talks with Putin mean?

© Olga Maltseva/afp (Montage)

The EU declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism by a large majority, but 58 MEPs voted against.

Why?

That explains our EU-Inside series.

Here we report on the things that happen behind closed doors and after the decisions of the EU Parliament.

Strasbourg – In the Parliament of the European Union, the opinions of 27 member states and 190 different parties meet, sometimes with extremely different views.

Almost all of the 705 elected MEPs agree on one point: how to deal with Russia and the Ukraine war.

At the end of November week, the European Parliament classified Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism”.

Because of the “deliberate attacks and atrocities against the Ukrainian civilian population”, as the German version puts it.

The decision is not binding and therefore has no legal consequences for the Kremlin.

Despite all this, the classification is a historic step.

It is the basis for introducing further sanctions.

And: It is another solidarity action with Ukraine.

The signal to Kyiv: we stand by your side.

But why did 58 MEPs vote against?

"A big political mistake": That's why Martin Schirdewan voted against the resolution

IPPEN.MEDIA followed up with Martin Schirdewan, co-leader of the Left Party and the Left Group in the European Parliament.

"Parliament made a big political mistake," says Schirdewan.

The decision was "completely inexplicable" and "totally short-term".

So he voted against it.

His reasoning: the political consequences would not be considered and diplomatic relations and negotiations would be made more difficult.

Because the classification now applies to him: "You don't negotiate with terrorists."

Although there is currently no sign of rapid negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, he believes that future peace efforts will become more complicated.

For example, when Russia, as a “terrorist state”, now meets France in the five-member UN Security Council.

“How is normal dialogue supposed to take place there?” The classification therefore also endangers the grain agreement, which the UN helped negotiate.

Martin Schirdewan has been a member of the European Parliament since 2017 and is co-chair of the Left Group.

The 47-year-old has also been leading the Federal Left together with Janine Wissler since the summer.

© Quentin Bruno/fkn

Schirdewan emphasizes that it is important to describe the Ukraine war as an "illegal Russian war of aggression that violates international law".

"New escalations through new terms are just totally short-term politics."

Schirdewan describes the deputies who voted for the resolution as “model students and class nerds”.

also read

Attack of Ukraine deep in Russia?

Kyiv hints - Moscow accuses

Accident with Minister of Agriculture Kaniber: 58-year-old dies after crash with Minister's limousine

"Can only be called terrorism": That's why David McAllister voted for the resolution

Harsh criticism, which the clear majority of EU parliamentarians reject.

494 MPs voted in favor of the resolution.

One of them is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister (CDU): "War crimes, rape, murder, torture, shelling of civilian institutions, some of which also house children - that can only be described as terrorism." "Trace of terrorist activities" of Russia also in recent years.

McAllister means, among other things, "political contract killings" and the "cruel activities in Syria".

With the classification, according to McAllister, the EU paved the way for another package of sanctions.

Behind the scenes, the European Parliament is already working on new restrictions for Russia.

He does not accept Schirdewan's argument that negotiations are now no longer possible.

Because that is a goal: "Russia must continue to be ostracized internationally and diplomatic relations should be reduced to the absolute minimum."

David McAllister was Prime Minister in Lower Saxony and has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014.

The Vice-President of the EPP Group chairs the External Affairs Committee.

© Imago/Christoph Hardt

EU resolution Russia as “terror sponsor”: These Germans voted against

• AfD

  : Christine Anderson, Gunnar Beck, Nicolaus Fest, Maximilian Krah, Joachim Kuhs, Guido Reil, Bernhard Zimniok

• SPD

  : Dietmar Köster, Joachim Schuster

• Left

  : Özlem Demirel, Martin Schirdewan

• The party

  : Martin Sonneborn

Designating Russia as a 'terror sponsor': a 'symbolic decision'

The resolution that has now been passed "is first of all a symbolic decision," says McAllister.

The legal remedies of the EU do not allow third countries to be classified as terrorist.

Some parliamentarians want to change that with the help of the EU Commission.

Then Russia could be brought before an international tribunal and Russian state assets confiscated;

so far it's just frozen.

The US, on the other hand, has other legal remedies.

So far, however, the Biden government has refused to classify Russia as a "terror state".

Andreas Schmid reports from Strasbourg

About IPPEN.MEDIA

The IPPEN.MEDIA network is one of the largest online publishers in Germany.

At the locations in Berlin, Hamburg/Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Vienna, journalists from our central editorial office research and publish for more than 50 news offers.

These include brands such as Münchner Merkur, Frankfurter Rundschau and BuzzFeed Germany.

Our news, interviews, analyzes and comments reach more than 5 million people in Germany every day.