Russia may soon face a legal bill for the destruction it has caused in Ukraine. The European Parliament has fast-tracked approval of a convention establishing the International Claims Commission, a body that will assess war damage claims and decide how much Moscow owes. The EU is now racing to ratify before 14 May — missing the deadline would cost the bloc a founding seat and direct say over the Commission’s work.

During a plenary session in Strasbourg, MEPs approved urgent procedure for the Convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine. There was no committee debate. The vote went straight to the floor. The push for speed came from the top: High Representative Kaja Kallas had urged Foreign Affairs Committee chair David McAllister (EPP/DEU) to use “the most effective procedure to deliver its consent” before the end of April, ahead of the Council of Europe’s ministerial meeting in May.

The International Claims Commission will form the second pillar of the EU’s compensation mechanism for Russia’s war of aggression. It builds on the existing Register of Damage for Ukraine. The Register collects and documents claims. The Claims Commission will then assess them and determine the compensation each case merits. The Convention is an international agreement. The Council can only conclude it after Parliament gives its consent.

Two-track accountability

In March, the Commission adopted a separate proposal for the EU to become a founding member of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. “These are two different strands, but both equally important. Both proposals now need to be adopted by member states in the Council and then approved by Parliament,” said Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert.

The EU and the United Nations General Assembly are working together on accountability for international crimes committed against Ukraine. They also seek to uphold Ukraine’s right to full reparation for damages caused by Russia.

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The Convention should therefore be approved.
— Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative

In mid-April, High Representative Kallas and Rule of Law Commissioner Michael McGrath wrote jointly to Foreign Affairs Committee chair David McAllister. They urged swift approval. “The Union remains firmly committed to ensuring that the Russian Federation bears the legal consequences of its internationally wrongful acts against Ukraine, including the obligation to make reparation for any damage, loss or injury caused by those acts. The Convention should therefore be approved,” Ms Kallas wrote.

The Chișinău deadline

On 14 May, the Council of Europe will hold the 135th Session of the Committee of Ministers in Chișinău, Moldova. A treaty event taking place on the sidelines. Ms Kallas described the meeting as “a key opportunity for the Union to hand over the instrument for conclusion of the Convention and demonstrate the Union’s leading role in establishing the International Claims Commission.”

If the EU ratifies before that date, it will be among the first nine parties to consent to be bound by the Convention, securing a founding seat and direct influence over the Commission’s work. So far, 35 countries plus the EU have signed.