Committee on Foreign Affairs II

Considering the ongoing tensions with Russia and Ukraine, how should the European Union balance its role as an advocate of peace and stability without compromising the safety of its energy supply from Russia? 

 

Submitted by: Maryia Fokina (BY) & Yuliia Shylova (UA)

It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that each person in the world has heard that “something is going on between Russia and Ukraine”. To put it shortly: yes, a lot is going on. For a long time now the news has been booming with events in the Eastern Europe: Euromaidan[1], Pro-Russian unrest in the East of Ukraine[2],  the annexation of Crimea[3], the war in Donbass[4], the Kerch Strait incident[5], Russia-Ukraine gas dispute[6]. All of this has been predictably accompanied by a great amount of pain, suffering, devastation, lots of ruined lives, separated families, irreversible traumas and terrible deaths[7]. The most frustrating thing is that the tragic conflict is still not over[8]: the issues above remain unresolved, with some of them even worsening with time, which affects both sides and their close neighbour - the European Union.

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Definition of Key terms

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• Euromaidan is also known as the Ukrainian 2014 revolution. It was a wave of protests and civil unrest in Ukraine that began in November 2013 on Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Kyiv. The demonstrations were sparked by the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, instead choosing closer ties to Russia;

• Annexation means taking control over something, especially a territory;

• Crimean Peninsula used to be part of Ukrainian territory, but was annexed by Russia after a referendum in 2014. Now the Republic of Crimea is established on the territory, with Sevastopol as the federal centre;

• The Donbass is a historical, cultural, and economic region in Eastern Ukraine. The name Donbass mainly refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Because of Euromaidan and Russian interventions, the Donbass was in great unrest, which later grew into a war between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government;

• The Kerch Strait Incident - occurred on 25 November 2018 when the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels attempting to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait on their way to the port of Mariupol;

• Nord Stream 2 (NS2) is a 1200-kilometre long natural gas pipeline project that will run from the Russian Baltic coast under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany. At 55 cm, the pipeline will double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Russia has announced its plans to bypass Ukraine in gas trade through NS2;

• Separatism refers to the act of separation of a particular group of people from a larger group with reasons concerning ethnicity, religion, or gender.

 

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Relevance of the Topic

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As the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is still unresolved[9] and the war in Eastern Ukraine being considered among the worst humanitarian crises[10] ongoing in the world, such instability threatens international security and peace in the European region. 

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Despite the numerous Ukrainian legal cases in international courts[11] against Russian and despite sanctions[12] that were imposed on Russia over the Ukrainian crisis (annexation of Crimea and war in Eastern Ukraine), Russia continues to violate its international obligations according to the Minsk agreement[13], norms of international law and human rights.

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Moreover, while attempts of the European Union to play its role as a mediator fail, the ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia cause gas disputes[14], when Russia refuses to renegotiate higher transit tariffs received by Ukraine,  and threatens the transit of gas from Russia through Ukraine to the European Union and energy security of the European Union.

 

 

Key Conflicts   

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Illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula[15].  It has been 5 years since Russia has violated the borders and the territorial integrity of Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula  through military intervention which has been deemed illegal by international standards[16]. Restrictive measures[17], imposed on Russia in 2014, are limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol. Sanctions might be imposed on 23 June 2019, because of annexation of Crimea will expand and are likely to be further extended. Despite sanctions that were imposed starting from 2014  Russia continues to violate human rights[18] on the territory of the Peninsula.

 

Armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine[19]. Russia-backed armed groups[20], so called separatists, are fighting against Ukrainian army for the territory of Eastern Ukraine and are trying to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine. Ukrainian legislation recognises these group as terrorists and Russia is accused by Ukraine of financing terrorism[21] which is an evident breach of international law and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.[22] However, the Normandy format[23], which was established by Minsk Agreements, turned out to be inefficient in a conflict resolution as numerous hostilities take place on a regular basis on the territory of Donbass.

 

The abovementioned issues worsen the conflict between the gas companies of Ukraine and Russia[24] which threatens the energy security of the European Union. The main issue is the Russian refusal to negotiate tariffs on transit as well as the controversial Nordstream 2 pipeline, which allows Russian gas to bypass Ukraine but is opposed[25] by the EU’s Eastern and Baltic member states. Also, the Russian Federation was found by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to be  liable for the unlawful seisure of Naftogaz assets in Crimea[26] under the bilateral investment treaty between Ukraine and Russia.

 

Moreover, Ukraine has signed a constitutional amendment committing the country to become a fully-fledged member of NATO and the European Union, which will strengthen Ukrainian position on the international level and could open new opportunities  for defence in conflict with Russia (such as collective defence used by NATO-members and reinforced sanctions imposed by European Commission).

 

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Stakeholders

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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries, with the goal of collective defence. The responsible authority is the NATO Ukraine Commission (NUC), which is responsible for developing the relationship between NATO and Ukraine and for initiating cooperative activities.

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The European Council works to define the EU political priorities and directions and sets the EU’s political agenda. The members of the European Council are the heads of state of the 28 EU Member States, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission.

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The Council of Europe is the leading human rights organisation on the Eurasian continent. It includes 47 member states, 28 of which are EU countries. All of them have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

 

The European Union External Action Service (EEAS) the diplomatic service of the European Union, which carries out the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFPS). The CFSP is  legislation by the European Council, aimed at preserving peace, strengthening international security, promoting international cooperation and fostering democracy. One of the tools to promote its objectives is sanctions.

 

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) - a special-purpose law-enforcement agency, which provides state security of Ukraine and is subordinated to the President of Ukraine.

 

Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics form a confederation under the name Novorossiya. They are self-proclaimed People’s Republics on the territory of Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists[27].

 

Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom - a Russian gas company that holds a monopoly over Russia’s natural gas exports. Gazprom holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves and owns the world’s largest gas transmission system with a total length of 172 thousands kilometres. In the year 2018, Gazprom exported 200,8 billion cubic metres of gas to Europe. The largest importers are Germany, Turkey, Italy, Great Britain and France.

 

Naftogaz and Ukrnafta are the largest oil and gas companies in Ukraine. They play a vital role in both the storage and transit of gas in Europe and in improving the EU’s energy supply.

 

The Moscow-Helsinki Group is one of the leading Russian organisations aimed at human rights protection and popularisation.

 

Amnesty International is an international human rights movement. Its Ukrainian branch, Amnesty International Ukraine, works actively to promote human rights, monitors human rights violations in Crimea and the Donbass region and the detentions of civilians in the conflict zones.

 

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Existing Measures and Current Legislation

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The Minsk Agreement is a protocol signed by Russia, Ukraine and the representatives of so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, with the aim of halting the war in the region of Donbass. The agreement failed to stop the war, however, it significantly reduced fighting in the conflict zone for months until it collapsed in December 2014 – January 2015.

 

Sanctions The EU has implemented sanctions on Russia in order to pressure them on fulfilling the terms of the Minsk agreement.  Current sanctions[28] include Asset Freezes[29], travel restrictions, economic sanctions and diplomatic measures.

 

The ongoing legal processes in the international courts is a legal instrument which is used by Ukraine to counter Russian aggression. Ukraine initiated judicial procedures in the European Court of Human Rights[30], the International Court of Justice[31], the Permanent Court of Arbitration[32], the International Criminal Court[33] and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea[34].

 

Amendment to the Constitution of Ukraine - on the 19th February 2019 the President of Ukraine signed a constitutional amendment committing the country to become a fully-fledged member of NATO and the European Union which aims to strengthen its position in relations with Russia.

 

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Food for thought questions

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• How can the European Union act as an advocate for peace, democracy and stability in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?

• What can the Ukrainian government do to contribute to ending the war in the Eastern Ukraine?

• How can the European Union and the governments of Russia and Ukraine manage the gas disputes?

• What are the alternative sources of energy available to Europe?

• How can the issue of illegal annexation of Crimea be solved?

• What steps should the Ukrainian government take to ensure the safety, peace and stability of all parts of the country?

 

Links to further research and materials

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• A Ted Talk on the issues in Ukraine and why they  matter;

• A map of conflicts in Ukraine;

• A photo essay on separatism in Ukraine;

• An article on Russia-Ukraine gas dispute.

 

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