By Andris Gobiņš, EESC member, Latvia

Each and every one of us can contribute to faster and more sustainable freedom. Here are some ideas on how to do it, based on my experience of growing up in a refugee family in exile and now working in Latvia.

1. We have to understand our goals and act accordingly.

It is clear. The sooner Ukraine is fully freed from Russia’s occupation and terror, the less murder, rape, torture, suffering and damage there will be. And the less negative impact there will be on the rest of Europe.
We have to do whatever it takes (yes, "whatever it takes") to help Ukraine win this war against terror and save the future of the EU and Europe. And yes, we as civil society can contribute to it via pressure/discussions on our decision-makers and through better action and stronger links with civil society organisations.

2. Possible demands from civil society to governments includes:
-    demanding action from politicians (including those who are members of your organisation or friends of it). All necessary arms must be delivered and full and strong sanctions must be enforced. There is no place for any appeasement. – This is what we must do.
-    establishing strong action limiting the spread of and countering fake news and manipulation. – Stronger EU action needed.
-    developing a Peace, Recovery and resilience mechanism for Ukraine and the Member States on the EU's Eastern border, making it the most stable and prosperous region in the world.

3. Possible action within and for civil society includes:
-    boycotting all imports from Russia, including energy, and companies that continue to cooperate with or in Russia and buying Ukrainian products. – We have to do more here.
-    joining the non-formal network of trade unions who refuse to load/unload Russian ships etc., CSOs who cooperate with Ukraine or serve its refugees. – let's take action in all these areas!
-    including Ukrainian topics and representatives from Ukrainian organisations in all your meetings in your organisations and networks, as we did in EESC sections and in our plenary. - Let's keep up this good work.

Conclusions. - there must not be the slightest gains/benefits for the aggressor, Russia. The EU will gain the most if Ukraine becomes a Member State.

As we say very clearly in our Resolution, the EESC "believes it is of the utmost importance to the EU and the international community that no borders be changed through military means, and that no benefits be gained by the aggressor. The rule of law must be upheld, not the rights of the strongest, and full reparations paid to Ukraine." Everything else would do great harm to the EU and to world peace, and would be linked to an unimaginably high cost, both human and financial.

I believe Ukraine must and will become a fully-fledged EU Member State very soon. The EU will be stronger and, yes, also better with Ukraine within it. And there are no doubts about sufficient motivation for the remaining reforms needed in Ukraine and the great positive impact on values and the related politics in the EU.

Incidentally, in Latvia, CSOs are leading an initiative to plant #UkraineSolidarity and #UkraineInTheEU sunflowers on 9 May, Europe Day. Key EU institutions and others will be taking part, so please join in!.