On the 22nd of March, the Chinese government listed sanctions against Greens/EFA Member Reinhard Bütikofer and fellow MEPs, the Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee, as well as Belgian Green MP Samuel Cogolati and MPs from the Netherlands and Lithuania, think tanks and academia experts. The move by the Chinese authorities followed the decision to place certain Chinese officials on the EU’s sanctions list for human rights violations against the Uighur people in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
For the Greens/EFA Group, the reaction of China is unacceptable, disproportionate and unfounded. The EU adopted sanctions, based on a solid legal basis, against middle-ranking Chinese officials and CCP-party members responsible for serious human rights violations, which are an attack against the values that the Parliament represents: democracy, the rule of law and human rights. The Parliament cannot put the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) on the agenda as long as these sanctions are in place against its own Members. Consideration of the CAI and any ratification procedure must be put on hold.
The resolution will be voted on in the May plenary session.
Reinhard Bütikofer MEP, Chair of the European Parliament’s China Delegation, comments:
“The European Parliament is not impressed by Chinese sanctions. China’s attack on the heart of European democracy has already proven to be a misguided miscalculation and has strengthened resilience against an increasingly aggressive Chinese foreign policy.”