On Wednesday 11 February, MEPs called for security and defence partnerships between the EU and its main bilateral partners, adopting the report by Michał Szczerba (EPP, Polish) by 440 votes to 119 with 85 abstentions.
According to MEPs, these partnerships are a necessity, as they support the EU’s strategic autonomy and its ambition to play a stronger role as a global strategic player, while remaining fully complementary to NATO and anchored in multilateral cooperation.
Emphasising that EU-US relations remain a pillar of European security and defence, the European Parliament stresses the importance of exploring the establishment of a formalised security and defence partnership with the United States, “that would align with EU interests and values and promote a rules-based international order”. It also calls for consideration to be given to establishing an official security and defence partnership with Ukraine.
More generally, MEPs are calling on Member States and the European External Action Service to explore the creation of additional security and defence partnerships, based on clear and mutually beneficial commitments, with other partners who share the same values and are committed to the maintenance of a rules-based international order.
The European Parliament also stresses the importance of interoperability, joint training and defence industrial innovation in these partnerships.
Furthermore, MEPs believe that the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO is of crucial importance, adding that the relationship must continue to develop, in particular through greater sharing of information and intelligence. They are also calling for the full implementation of the EU-NATO joint declarations.
Finally, the European Parliament also advocates developing the partnership with the United Nations concerning peace operations and crisis management and deepening strategic partnerships with other regional organisations.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/ko9 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)