Commission statement on the Trump Administration waiving of sanctions and tariffs required on Russia under the Graham Act

Honourable Members,

I said it this morning in the hemicycle and I’ll say it again. Russia is not winning on the battlefield. And that is the reason why we see Moscow switching up tactics: 
Overtly bombarding civilians and civilian infrastructure;
Stepping up aggression against the European Union;
And lobbying for sanctions relief.

The economy is Moscow’s Achilles heel. Russia wants to get rid of the sanctions because the economic pressure works.

Sanctions have already deprived Russia of over 1 trillion euro from its war chest. And sanctions work especially well when coordinated with our partners and allies.

The adoption of the Graham Bill by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives last month was an important and positive development.  

It reflected a truly bipartisan effort to pressure Russia, the only country that stands in the way of peace. And it marked a moment when both sides of the Atlantic came together again with targeted and coordinated action to end this war.

The latest decision to waive the application of the principal sanctions, restrictions and tariffs under the Lindsey Graham Act is regrettable and impairs international pressure on Russia to end its war. 
Honourable Members,

In the 17-month period between Lindsay Graham first introducing his proposal in April 2025 and the formal adoption in September 2026, the European Union has adopted over 30 rounds of Russia-related sanctions including at each of the last 10 Foreign Affairs Councils.

When Russia escalates aggression against Ukraine, Europe responds with more pressure on the aggressor.

When a Russian drone lands on a village park, killing children – as we saw yesterday in Kharkiv – we must respond with more pressure.

A week ago, the EU agreed to sanction over 1,600 people and entities linked to Russia's war. This was the largest round of sanctions listings since the war started  

Last Friday we also adopted important sanctions to close loopholes and counter circumvention.

Just yesterday, I proposed another major package of new listings focused on curbing Russia’s sources of revenue further:
From the shadow fleet
From the energy sector 
And from the banking sector, amongst others. 
And we are working hard to put together a 22nd package to target sectors and entities that support the prolongation of Russia’s war, also in 3rd countries.

We are determined to keep raising the pressure. We are also determined to coordinate these efforts with our partners.

Our work through various formats, including the G7, remains active. Yes, it is sometimes challenging, but Europe is nothing but consistent in our policies and unwavering in our objectives. We continue to engage with the United States on that basis. If the U.S. would implement the Graham Bill we could really put the pressure so that Russia will end its war.

Honourable members,

Ukraine has already agreed to an energy ceasefire. Russia broke it.
Ukraine has already agreed to a Black Sea arrangement. Russia rejected it. 
In fact there are five ceasefire options currently on the table, jointly developed with other countries. The only country standing in the way of implementing them is Russia.

Ukraine wants peace. Europe wants peace. The United States wants peace. The only one who doesn't want peace is Russia.

We need to get Russia from a position where they pretend to negotiate to a position where they actually need to negotiate. 
That is why, until Russia agrees to stop its illegal war and Ukraine gets a just and lasting peace, Europe must retain its leverage and not lift sanctions ourselves. Europe’s security is at risk – we don’t have a choice. 

Closing remarks

Honorable Members, thank you for this debate.

Wars are rarely so black and white as they are in Ukraine. There's one aggressor and one victim, and that is also very clear for us. To achieve peace, you have to put the pressure on the aggressor, not the victim.

A year ago, I was in Kuwait and visited a history museum there, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and I watched the UN speeches. The speeches were actually exactly the same. If you took Iraq and put Russia, and if you took Kuwait and put Ukraine instead, you got the same speeches, but the outcome was totally different. And why? Because the international community was united in not only the speeches but also pushing back the aggressor, pushing back Iraq from Kuwait's borders. That also meant sanctions. That meant pressure. That also meant frozen assets of Iraq being used for Kuwait. The international community was united.

If we would be united right now with the United States on the pressure on Russia, this pressure would make Russia actually come to the negotiation table with Ukraine and negotiate. While so far they are just pretending to negotiate and protect their ultimate, maximum goals. So what we have to do is stay on the course because we cannot give in to aggression. Because if we give in to aggression, more aggression will follow.