EU Parliament debates fate of Ukrainian children in Russia

"Bring them home, take them back to their families. That is our duty," implored Hilde Vautmans, a liberal member of the EU Parliament (MEP), while addressing her colleagues in Strasbourg.

On Wednesday morning, EU lawmakers discussed the matter of forcibly deported children as well as a pending arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the matter.

Determining the exact number of Ukrainian children who may have been taken to Russia is not easy. The number varies depending on the source, EU Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Eva Jourova told MEPs. 

In an interview with DW, Russian-born Green Party MEP Sergey Lagodinsky said that more than 300,000 children had been forced to move as a result of the war. He also claimed that 16,000 Ukrainian children had been abducted by Russia and that some had even been adopted by Russians in Russia. 

"The National Information Bureau of Ukraine has received information on over 16,000 children concerned as of last Friday," Jourova confirmed in the plenary session. Croatian Social Democrat Tonino Picula fears the true number of abducted children may be even higher.

In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, accusing them of illegally deporting and transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. Moscow denies the allegations and prefers instead to speak of evacuations.

EU parliamentarians welcome Putin arrest warrant

The arrest warrant was widely welcomed by EU parliamentarians. Andrius Kubilius, a member of the conservative European People's Party (EPP), said, "Justice is coming, Mr. Putin," with a nod to the Russian president.

Still, MEPs are also aware of the limits of the international arrest warrant, pointing out that Russia does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction.

A further point of the discussion was the obligation to cooperate with the ICC: EU Commission Vice-President Jourova pointed to the fact that the ICC may submit a request for the arrest and surrender of the suspects to any country in the bloc. This, she said, would require cooperation. "All EU member states have an obligation to comply with requests for arrest and surrender."

Hungarian MEP Katalin Cseh, a member of the liberal Renew Europe group, warned her country might not be in line: "When asked about the ICC's arrest warrant, Victor Orban's head of office said that in Hungary, Putin would not be arrested."

Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, made the remarks at a news conference in late March, saying an arrest would not be in compliance with Hungarian law. Other members of the EU Parliament, in particular those from the populist right-wing Identity and Democracy (ID) group, also warned that third countries must respect their commitments under the ICC statute. Jaak Madison, an Estonian nationalist and ID group member, called for consequences in the case of breaches.

The ICC's arrest warrant could have consequences for countries outside the bloc as well, for instance South Africa, which has close ties to Russia and is slated to host Vladimir Putin when he attends a BRICS summit there in August.

'Duty' to bring home the children

During debate, several parliamentarians spoke of a "duty" to do everything possible to bring those Ukrainian children in question back to their families. Some parliamentarians said they felt reminded of the past. "This forced displacement takes us back to Stalin-times and the Soviet Union," said EPP group member David Lega. "Forced abductions cannot change the identity of a nation," said the Social Democrat.

Prior to debate in Strasbourg, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU and Poland would organize an international campaign to locate and return Ukrainian children deported to Russia.

Vera Jourova has promised to keep MEPs updated on the issue.

EPP group member Miriam Lexmann welcomed the initiative. "We must do all in our power, that these children return to their loved ones,” the Slovakian lawmaker said.

In his interview with DW, Green MEP Sergey Lagodinsky said the EU is already pursuing criminal prosecution: "The European Union is extremely helpful, supporting Ukrainian — and also other member states' — prosecutors. The EU has established a prosecuting unit in The Hague, together with the agency for judical cooperation, Eurojust," Lagodinsky said. "We are collecting evidence," he said, adding that the EU is also helping evaluate and archive that evidence. 

After the debate, Eva Jourova promised parliamentarians the EU Commission would do "everything in our power to ensure accountability and that these children are returned to where they belong."

Edited by: Jon Shelton