- Category
- Latest news
EU Leaders to Support Special Tribunal for Putin Under Council of Europe’s Supervision
- Authors
![Ivan_khomenko]( "Ivan Khomenko")
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Ivan Khomenko")
The European Council, set to convene in Brussels on March 20-21, is expected to underscore the necessity of holding accountable those responsible for crimes committed during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The summit conclusions will recognize the significance of establishing a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine under the Council of Europe’s framework.
According to a draft of the summit’s conclusions obtained by European Pravda, EU leaders will consider the creation of the tribunal an important step toward ensuring accountability for the crime of aggression, specifically targeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the top leadership of the Russian Federation.
“The European Council reaffirms the EU’s strong commitment to ensuring full accountability for war crimes and other most serious crimes committed in connection with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In this context, the progress made in establishing the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine within the Council of Europe is a significant step forward,” the document states.
However, Hungary is not expected to endorse this section of the conclusions, with 26 out of 27 EU member states anticipated to approve the text.
According to European Pravda On March 7, EU ministers discussed the establishment of a tribunal to prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression, with the primary goal of holding Putin accountable.
Discussions on a special tribunal for Russia have been ongoing since 2022, as no existing international court currently has jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. For a significant period, there was little practical progress in advancing this initiative.
On February 4, 2025, during the 13th meeting of the Core Group—a coalition of states working on the tribunal’s creation—sources reported that the group finalized the tribunal’s draft statute and agreed to establish it through a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe.
