Strasbourg, 18 September 2014
ALDE MEPs: We must stop the advance of ISIS
We must stop the advance of ISIS as a matter of urgency in order to facilitate humanitarian support. ALDE MEPs supported a strongly worded resolution on this today adopted by the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (Open VLD, Belgium) ALDE Foreign Affairs Coordinator said ” We have many challenges to face in this crisis – military, political, societal and humanitarian. There is a need for increased humanitarian assistance including a better protection of minorities’ especially religious minorities.”
ALDE believe that the EU should develop a comprehensive policy approach to the region and, notably, that Iran, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states need to be included as essential players in any de-escalation effort in Syria and Iraq
She continued “A coalition is being put together to take military action to stop the advance of ISIS but if Afghanistan has taught us anything it is, that groups like this are not easily defeated so we will also need political answers. We must support a unified government in Iraq and support a transition in Syria to create more political stability in the region. We also need to strengthen the regimes in Jordan and the Lebanon. ”
Sanctions must be tightened to prevent the ISIS from selling oil, by putting pressure on all those involved in the transport, transformation, refinement and commercialization of oil extracted in ISIS controlled areas together with a strict control of the financial flows in order to prevent economic activities and the exploitation of tax-havens by ISIS
In conclusion, Javier Nart MEP(Ciudadanos, Spain) “In the face of torture, slavery, rape and mass killings there is only one possible effective response and that is a military response. The war against barbarism cannot remain in the realms of the rhetoric of politically correct and hypocritically ineffective statements.”
For further information
Neil Corlett: +33-3-88 17 41 67 or +32-478-78 22 84
e-mail: neil.corlett@europarl.europa.eu
Edel Crosse: +33-3-88 17 35 61 or +32-498-16 17 80
Please also consult: http://www.alde.eu