mr president the problem we are coping with is not a mere russia-ukraine dispute
there is a europe-russia dispute having as its object the geopolitical status of ukraine a european union-ukraine dispute having as its object the european perspectives of ukraine a european union-russia dispute having as its object the russian monopoly on the gas supply and a european union-ukraine dispute having as its object the ukrainian monopoly on gas transit
all these disputes combined place us in the middle of an energy war which is about power-sharing
in this war we are not hostages but combatants
we are not mediators but one of the sides having a legitimate interest
this war extends its consequences from one crisis to another
could we cease the combat and organise a peace conference
we need rules for a free energy market shared by our russian and ukrainian partners
we need guarantees and mechanisms to enhance these rules and an arbitration system for dispute settlement as well as an institution to put in motion those mechanisms
we need a common european energy policy served by appropriate legal and political instruments and consolidated by an integrated agreement with the supply and transit countries russia and ukraine respectively
sanctions cannot work
confrontation is not the solution either
let us be united and negotiate strategically and comprehensively
to this end we have to organise an interparliamentary ad hoc working group formed by european parliament russian duma and ukrainian rada representatives to follow the process of consensus and strategy-building on a permanent basis as long as necessary
