On 19 January 2021, Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of a stronger Europe in the World, participated in the Plenary Session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, where he gave an opening statement regarding the arrest on 17 January 2021 of Aleksei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader, hospitalised on 20 Augustus 2020 in serious condition after he was sickened with a nerve agent during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow.

On this occasion, Josep Borrell Fontelles stated that the day before, he issued, on behalf of the European Union, a declaration with a clear message that we condemn the arrest of Aleksei Navalny, and that the European Union stands in strong solidarity with him.