Brussels, 10/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - By 592 votes in favour, 66 against and 11 abstentions, the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 10 March adopted the report by Italian EPP member Gabriele Albertini on the basic choices of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The Parliament calls upon the vice-president/High Representative and her services to draft- with a view to deepening the collective and strategic reflection of the Union- a coherent foreign policy strategy based on the objectives and principles laid down in article 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It takes the view that a strategy of this kind should clearly identify the common interests of the EU in terms of security and thus be used as a reference framework for decision-making and the formulation, funding, implementation and control of the external actions of the Union. It calls upon the vice-president/High Representative fully to involve the bodies concerned of the European Parliament in this enterprise. It declares its strong belief that the concept of "human security", as defined in the Madrid report drafted in 2007 by the study group on human security, and the concept of "responsibility to protect", as defined in the end document of the world summit 2005, should be the two guiding principles of this. The Parliament reiterates its position that, in order to reinforce the democratic legitimacy of CFSP, the competent bodies of the Parliament should be consulted on the launch of CSDP missions.
The EP reaffirms that in order for the European Union to be able to play an active role in the world, it must guarantee sufficient budgetary resources. It criticises the fact that the necessary budget continues to be under-funded and expresses its deep concern for the consequences of this under-funding on the capacity of the Union to carry out a credible and proactive foreign policy. It reiterates its concern at the lack of transparency and information on the funding of the joint costs of the operations of the European Union with military or defence-related implications, as the Athena mechanism clearly offers no general overview of all of the financial implications of the missions carried out under CFSP. It therefore welcomes the setting in place of the start-up fund, in virtue of article 41, paragraph 3, of the Treaty on European Union, and asks to be consulted on the management of this fund, in line with the general prerogatives of the Parliament regarding CFSP and CSDP as stipulated in article 36 of the Treaty on European Union.
The Parliament stresses the need to establish greater clarity on the criteria of the appointment and assessment of the EU Special Representatives (EUSR), also taking account of the need for adequate representation of both sexes. It therefore pleads in favour of increased parliamentary controls on the EUSRs and scrutiny rights over the appointment and mandates. It takes the view that the EUSRs in question should gradually be phased out and their responsibilities taken over by the country-based EU Heads of Delegation, whilst EUSRs with regional responsibilities must coordinate and provide political guidance to EU Heads of Delegation, under the authority of the vice-president/High Representative.
The EP is of the opinion that paragraphs 2 and 7 of article 47 of the Treaty on European Union, together with article 10 of protocol no. 1 on the role of the national parliaments within the European Union, render obsolete the remaining functions of the Western European Union (WEU). It therefore calls upon the Member States of the European Union concerned to act in line with article XII of the Treaty of the WEU and to give one year's notice of their intention to denounce this Treaty. It recalls that the right of parliamentary scrutiny over CFSP and CSDP activities lies with the European Parliament and the national parliaments of the Member States of the EU.
The EP reiterates the urgent need to meet energy challenges, by implementing a common European external energy policy. It pleads in favour of orderly migration management and stresses the external dimension of the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. It states that it is in favour of strengthening the OSCE, particularly by opening talks on the idea of granting it a legal personality. It recommends the revision of the "Berlin plus" agreements and the development of a more strategic dialogue between the EU and NATO, in full respect of the decision-making autonomy of both organisations.
In its adoption of the Danjean report, the Parliament also lends its support to the States which called for a debate under the aegis of NATO on nuclear policy. It takes position in favour of removing American nuclear weapons from Europe (S&D group amendment, adopted by 316 votes in favour, 288 against and 17 abstentions). EUROPE will return to this report.
Europe will only count in world if Member States act in concert, says Catherine Ashton
Speaking before the MEPs on Wednesday morning, before the vote on the Albertini and Danjean reports, Catherine Ashton laid out her vision and priorities for the future foreign policy of the EU (for her comments on the European diplomatic service, see other article above). The economic power of a country or a region increasingly determines its political weight on the global scene "and that is quite clear", for example in negotiations on the climate, the high representative said. Economically, however, she continued, Europe is in a somewhat poor position, with its contribution to global GDP having fallen from 28% to 21% over the last 60 years, whilst the economies of countries such as China and India are recording growth of 10% a year. This means that Europe must unite and sing from the same hymn sheet. "If we act together, we will be able to safeguard our interests. If we do not, others will take decisions for us, it really is that simple", said Baroness Ashton, who added: "my preference is clear: we must act as Europeans". First of all by ensuring stability and security in our own neighbourhood, by helping the countries of the east and south of the EU to make the reforms needed. Then by "dealing with the challenges of global security of our time", working together with the main world powers and international organisations. The high representative went on to comment on the report by Michel Barnier proposing the creation of a civil protection force. "Let us start with the Haiti lessons learned in the exercise now underway. Then let us see what options we have to mobilise assets of member states together with EU instruments to support either the UN and OCHA or act as the EU", she said. The watchword must be to make the most out of synergies whilst avoiding splits over the way we respond to crises inside the EU and outside it, Baroness Ashton explained. The Barnier report can be extremely useful in this reflection, she said.
Speaking on behalf of the EPP Group, the Cypriot MEP Ioannis Kasoulides called upon Catherine Ashton to deal with non-proliferation as an absolute priority, particularly as countries such as Iran and North Korea are in the process of procuring the atomic bomb, he said. "We support the conclusion of an international treaty on the phasing-out of nuclear weapons", Mr Kasoulides said. Speaking on behalf of the S&D Group, Romania's Adrian Severin welcomed the fact that Baroness Ashton's priorities correspond more or less to those of his group, in other words: an effective diplomatic service, an ambitious neighbourhood policy, a "visionary" enlargement policy, well-structured partnerships with the main strategic players in the world, effective strategies towards global challenges such as energy security, immigration, non-proliferation and the fight against poverty. Belgium's Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (ALDE) criticised the fact that the EU had, for several months (from early November 2009 until the new Commission took up its duties on 10 February 2010), only been able to manage ongoing affairs. This meant that it "disappeared from the world scene". The EU cannot afford to be absent for such a long time, "because the world will not wait for it", she said. Neyts-Uyttebroeck also urged the high representative to be more present "on the ground". The Conservative Group (CRE) stressed that "transatlantic relations and NATO must remain the cornerstones of the foreign and security policy of the Union", as UK member Charles Tannock put it. On behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Spain's Willy Meyer pleaded for the demilitarisation of foreign policy. The importance of transatlantic relations was mentioned by several MEPs, notably Cristian Preda (EPP) and Ioan Pasçu (S&D), both Romanians, who pleaded for these relations to be placed on a level playing field. But we must not neglect relations with Russia, stressed Czech member Libor Roucek.
As regards relations with NATO, the Greek Socialist Maria Eleni Koppa argued that a close relationship should not stand in the way of developing Europe's own defence capacity. In the view of UK member Geoffrey Van Orden (CRE), the new foreign policy recommended by the Danjean report is a provocation, a manifesto for the military integration of Europe, to which he is firmly opposed, as was the German MEP Sabine Lösing (GUE), albeit for very different reasons. The path "which we have taken" is not the right one, particularly in Afghanistan, she protested, calling for a change of perspective, with a view to total disarmament. This call was echoed by MEPs of all backgrounds, among them the Italian Pino Arlacchi (ALDE) and Austrian Green Ulrike Lunacek. Some of them reproached Baroness Ashton for having allegedly ignored issues which are important to them (the fight against Islamisation, in the view of Belgian Philip Claeys, Vlaams Belang, and the role of China in the Balkans for Dutch member Bastiaan Belder). More numerous were those calling for more details on the actual content of the security and defence policy. (O.J./H.B./L.G./transl.fl)