MEPs, on Wednesday 25 November, called on the EU to become more involved internationally, claiming that the Covid-19 pandemic was a game-changer on the international stage.
In the report by Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe, Belgium) on the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic on EU foreign policy, which it adopted by 467 votes to 80 with 148 abstentions, the European Parliament stressed the “fundamental” importance of strengthening the EU’s internal resilience, developing new partnerships and reinforcing its multilateralist vision on a global scale, “with a strong and coordinated foreign policy response”. It also advocates the development of the EU’s strategic autonomy.
According to MEPs, the Covid-19 crisis confirmed the need for a “stronger and more effective” EU foreign and security policy. This would include a stronger mandate for the High Representative of the Union and qualified majority voting for foreign policy decisions.
Moreover, the Union’s geopolitical ambitions must be supported by sufficient budgetary allocations in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
MEPs also call on the High Representative to ensure that the EU acts more strategically and plays its part in defending, promoting and developing the rules-based multilateral world order. Support for democracy and the protection of human rights must be a priority for Team Europe, they add.
The report also looks at relations with the United States, China, Russia and India. While it states that the transatlantic partnership needs to be reinvigorated in order to tackle the pandemic and other major international challenges more effectively, the European Parliament also stresses the need to review EU-China relations, ensuring that the new strategy upholds European values and interests.
See the report: https://bit.ly/2KF7JVk (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)