BRUSSELS. Feb 16 (Interfax) - The European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg adopted a resolution on Thursday, urging members of the European Union to consider sending fighter jets to Ukraine, using frozen Russian assets for the Ukraine reconstruction, further sanctions against Russia, and starting talks over Ukraine's EU membership.
The resolution passed a 444-26 vote with 37 abstentions.
Members of the EP (MEPs) "reaffirm their support for providing military assistance to Ukraine for as long as is necessary and call for serious consideration to be given to delivering Western fighter jets and helicopters, appropriate missile systems and substantial increases in munitions delivery to Kyiv," the EP website said.
The document urges EU members to adopt a tenth package of sanctions "against Russia and its allies" by the end of February and substantially expand its scale. The MEPs wish "to make the sanctions already in place more effective" and consider it necessary to take urgent steps in order to "block any attempt to circumvent these restrictive measures," the website said.
The EP has demanded that work be finished on the "legal regime - which allows for Russian assets frozen by the EU to be confiscated" with a view to using them to rebuild Ukraine, the website said.
The EP also said the events in Ukraine have radically changed European geopolitics, "which necessitates bold, brave and comprehensive political, security and financial decisions by the EU," the website said. In this context, the MEPs "reiterate their support for the European Council's decision to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine," the website said.
The document urges Ukraine, European Commission and European Council to "work towards the start of accession negotiations this year." At the same time, the EP has reiterated that joining the EU "remains a merit-based process with respect for relevant procedures and conditional criteria" for being admitted into the EU, the website said.
While such EP resolutions are merely a recommendation, other EU institutions and countries rely on them when forming EU and national policies.