EU and European Parliament leaders have expressed support for a number of members of parliament sanctioned by China, while the European Parliament cancelled a deliberative session on the China-EU investment agreement.
On Monday (March 22, 2021), in a rare move coordinated with the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, the EU announced on the same day sanctions against Chinese officials suspected of trampling on the human rights of the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang, China.
The Chinese authorities then responded swiftly by announcing sanctions against 10 individuals and four entities in Europe, including several members of the European Parliament and a number of leading European think tanks and academics. They have all been active voices on human rights issues in China.
David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament, issued a statement via social media on Monday expressing “strong support” for the five MEPs and the European Parliament’s human rights group sanctioned by China, “I reiterate my support for them and for the other EU persons and entities sanctioned. “
Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the European Parliament from France, is on the list of China’s sanctions. He tweeted, “I’m on China’s sanctions list, can’t enter China (and my Family too!) ) and cannot have contact with Chinese officials or companies, all because I am a voice for Uighurs and a voice for human rights. Let’s be clear: these sanctions are a badge of honor for me. The resistance will continue!”
Meanwhile, Beijing‘s sanctions against the EU could affect the EU’s economic and trade relations with China and the European Parliament’s approval of a key investment agreement.
“In light of today’s latest developments in EU-China relations and in particular (China’s) unacceptable sanctions,” Winkler Gyula, vice chairman of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, said in an email Monday, the European Parliament decided to cancel a deliberative meeting scheduled for Tuesday on the signing of the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement CAI The European Parliament decided to cancel a deliberative meeting scheduled for Tuesday on the signing of the CAI. He also tweeted that “the EU is about values and principles, both within the EU and globally.”
Last December, China suddenly made major concessions to the EU in a number of key areas that had long eluded it, leading to a China-EU comprehensive investment agreement in principle with the EU.
Beijing’s move was seen as a major measure by China to draw European countries together to break up the new U.S. Biden administration’s anti-China alliance with its allies, and came under fire from Washington for doing so.
The comprehensive investment agreement between China and Europe must also be approved by the European Parliament. Some analysts say Beijing’s rare sanction against members of the European Parliament at this critical moment is tantamount to throwing stones at its own feet.
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