Its fighting talk from Charles Tannock who warns of disastrous consequences of an annexation of Crimea, and a plea from Guy Verhofstadt for Europe to take a bolder stand.

Crimea litmus test: will Europe move beyond cautious sanctions?

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16531885/n003-0285-en.srt

Can Europe speak with one voice  on the escalating crisis in Ukraine?

As Russian tanks remain  on the streets of Crimea,

MEPs Charles Tannock in the European  Conservatives and Reformists Group

and Guy Verhofstadt  from the Liberals and Democrats

give us their opinions.  What's the future for Crimea?

What we absolutely need is a bold attitude

and a bold reaction  from the European Union,

and we're lacking for the moment  that courageous reaction from the EU.

Let's be very clear about it.  If we don't have the courage

to announce sanctions, including  economic sanctions, towards Russia,

then it's clear that Russia will simply  incorporate Crimea inside Russia.

Ukraine gets closer to Europe,  Russia loses.

he has justified a military invasion  of a peaceful sovereign country.

There's the potential for a real bloody war.

Clearly Putin is in no mood for diplomacy.

He never was from the beginning.  He has a plan in his head,

which is to occupy first Crimea  and ideally half of Ukraine.

Can Russia justify its actions  by arguing the Kosovo precedent?

It was a different story,  because there you had the population

who wanted to create a new state,  an independent state.

The question is, will they continue  to be part of Ukraine

or will they in the future be part of the  Russian state, of the Russian Federation?

I'm not in any way against the fact  that the local population

should express themselves,  choose, make a decision on this,

but it has to be on what I call  normal, international, democratic standards.

The Russians only allow self-determination  when it suits them. None in Chechnya.

Have they allowed self-determination  in Chechnya with over 90% Chechens? No.

They are using this as a pretext  which has no foundation in international law

and they are signatories and guarantors  of the borders of Ukraine including Crimea.

Don't forget in 1991 there was  a referendum in the whole of Ukraine

and even in Crimea there was a majority  that wanted to be independent from Russia.

There were more Russians  living there then than now.

Two things have to be done. First of all,  announce a number of economic sanctions.

For example, no longer allowing  their dirty money coming from Russia

to be invested in the City of London  or in German industry

That's the first thing to do, including also  a visa ban, freezing of assets, and so on.

The second thing to do is to develop  a common energy policy as fast as possible.

Let's face it. Russia relies entirely  on selling its gas to European markets.

They rely on 100 billion dollars a year.

If that stopped or reduced  it would be crippling on their economy.

Russians have chosen bad timing in this  respect. The winter months are behind us.

The Americans will very soon be exporting  shale gas if they wish to.

There is spare capacity  from Norway, from Qatar, from Algeria.

The pipelines can be reversed  through Slovakia to Western Ukraine.

If you want to have  really severe economic sanctions,

of course Europe would pay a price.  It will be difficult but it can be done.