EU and Council of Europe sign agreement to fund advance team for Special Tribunal on Ukraine

On 23 January, the European Union and the Council of Europe (CoE) have signed an agreement on the financing of an advance team to establish the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, within the framework of the CoE.

The aim of the joint project is to create a team to prepare the institutional, logistical and organisational foundations of the Special Tribunal, which will have the mandate to prosecute senior political and military leaders for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The joint project will lay the groundwork for the election of the Special Tribunal's judges and prosecutor, and the development of the tribunal's rules of procedure and evidence, as well as its court management system. The advance team will also support stakeholder engagements to bolster support for the Special Tribunal.

The EU will contribute with €10 million to the Special Tribunal Advance Team (STAT) project through the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments.

HR/VP Kaja Kallas stated that "Russia's leaders are responsible for this war, and they must be held accountable. There can be no impunity" and called the EU's contribution "a concrete step towards justice."