EU imposes sanctions for Donbas elections, PACE limits sanctions for Russia

EU foreign ministers decided on Dec. 10 to impose
sanctions against nine individuals responsible for organizing the illegal
elections held in Donbas on Nov. 11, as reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty. Among those targeted were the elected head of the self-declared
Luhansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasichnik, as well as the leaders of the
election commissions and councils of the Russian-sponsored, self-declared
republics. The EU announced in September the elections violated the Minsk
Accords to establish peace in the Donbas region. At least ten EU
foreign-ministers voiced their support at the meeting for a new round of
sanctions against Russia for its aggressive actions against Ukraine in the Azov
Sea, the same report said.

The rules and procedures committee of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided on Dec. 10 to
preserve Russia’s vote for numerous key officials in the event that new rounds
of sanctions are imposed, reported its press service. These include the PACE
president, the judges of the European Court of Human Rights and the secretary
general of the Council of Europe. “In the event of an appeal against the rights
of a national delegation, PACE can’t place under doubt the right of its MPs to
participate in the election of elder officials of the Council of Europe … since
the assembly can’t interfere in fulfilling the Council of Europe statute and
European Convention on Human Rights,” the eurointegration.com.ua news site
said.

Zenon Zawada: In general,
Russia has more support in Council of Europe bodies, and less support in
European Union bodies. This pattern will continue for at least until the next
round of national elections in Germany (2021) and France (2022). Russia should
make gains with more allies getting elected to the European Parliament in May
2019.