33 Amendments of Urmas PAET related to 2019/2136(INI)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Parliament has a duty and responsibility to exercise its democratic oversight of the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and common security and defence policy (CSDP) and should have theffective means to fulfil this role;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU’s external action has a direct impact on the wellbeing of its citizens, within and outside the EU, and aims to ensure security and stability while safeguarding the European values of freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the world is facing a global shift of powers with geopolitical competition being a leading trend in foreign politics that requires quick and adequate response mechanisms; whereas the EU is largely absent in this global shift of powers and geopolitical competition due to a lack of unity among its Member States;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas new economic powers and political forces are pushing for their own global and regional ambitions with unpredictable consequences for global security;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU’s security environment is vulnerable to external pressure that prevents the EU from exercising its sovereignty;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that at a moment when competing powers are increasingly challenging the rules-based global order, we, as Europeans, must defend multilateralism, free and fair trade, international law, democracy, and human rights;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for a stronger, united, effective, proactive and more strategic European Union, especially given that a new European political cycle has just started and that the EU’s foreign and security policy is subject to change;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates the urgent need to strengthen the EU’s resilience and independence by reinforcing a CFSP which promotes peace, security, human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe and throughout the world; believes that this reinforced CFSP should include traditional soft power but also a strong European defence capacity, an effective sanctions policy and cross-border anti- terrorism cooperation;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that the European Union needs to take on a global leadership role and unlock its political potential to think and act like a geopolitical power while defending and promoting its common values and interests in the world; reaffirms the need to secure ‘EU strategic autonomy’; fully supports the Commission President’s decision to transform the EU’s executive branch into a ‘geopolitical commission’; underlines that a 'geopolitical Commission' would therefore be expected to adopt a preventive rather than responsive approach to global affairs; believes, in this regard, that the European Union should strive to become a more assertive actor, without prejudice to its standing as a Normative Power;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that the European Union needs to take on a global responsible and tangible leadership role and unlock its political potential to think and act like a geopolitical power while defending and promoting its common values and interests in the world; reaffirms the need to secure ‘EU strategic autonomy’; fully supports the Commission President’s decision to transform the EU’s executive branch into a ‘geopolitical commission’; that will systematically address external action matters; welcomes the commitment of the future HRVP to coordinate the external dimensions of the Commission’s action and to ensure a better link between internal and external aspects of our policies;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that the European Union needs to take on a global leadership role and unlock its political potential to think and act like a geopolitical power while defending and promoting its common values and interests in the world, help resolve conflicts worldwide and shape global governance; reaffirms the need to secure ‘EU strategic autonomy’; fully supports the Commission President’s decision to transform the EU’s executive branch into a ‘geopolitical commission’;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that the EU, in order to keep its external credibility, should put the respect for human rights clauses at the core of the EU's agreements with third countries, making them conditional and applying them when necessary;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls for greater solidarity and enhanced coordination between the EU and the Member States; recalls the need for the Union’s external policies to be consistent with each other and with other policies with an external dimension as well as for them to be coordinated with international partners; believes that good cooperation among the Member States is essential to safeguard our democracy, our common values, our freedom, and our social and environmental standards; underlines the need to extend cooperation between Member States, partner countries and international organisations;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underscores that the European Union must use its existing instruments more effectively and act in a more unified and coherent way in order to improve its decision-making processes; notes the Commission's proposal to combine most of the existing instruments for external action into a single instrument, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI); reiterates that pooling external action instruments into a single fund may lead to synergies, effectiveness and rapidness in decision-making process and disbursement of funds, but should not divert the Union's funding from its longstanding and overarching foreign policy goals of poverty eradication, sustainable development and the protection of human rights;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that the European Union can only deliver its full potential when speaking with one voice and when decision-making is shifted step by step from the national to the supranational level, taking full advantage of the possibilities offered by the EU treaties, institutions and their procedures; stresses that the European Union should use all available means to achieve this goal, including those offered by parliamentary diplomacy;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the more effective and comprehensive sharing of information by the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to enable Parliament to exercise its scrutiny role in an efficient and timely manner, including in the field of the CFSP; welcomes the commitment of the future HRVP to better and sooner inform, involve and consult Parliament on the fundamental choices of the CFSP;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for greater coherence, consistency and complementarity, as laid down in the Treaties, between the EU’s external financing instruments and the CFSP to enable the European Union to tackle growing security and foreign policy challenges; considers that the simplified structure of external instruments proposed under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument calls for proper checks and balances, a sufficient level of transparency, and strategic policy input and scrutiny of implementation by Parliament; stresses the need for efficient and adequate funding under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for 2021-2027 (IPA III); highlights the role of the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP), particularly in supporting peace and stability around the world; expects a timely adoption of the post-2020 instruments, so as to avoid unnecessary funding gaps;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Encourages the EU to further prioritise conflict prevention and mediationBelieves that conflict prevention and mediation as well as the peaceful resolution of protracted conflicts, notably in the EU's immediate neighbourhood, should be a priority in the coming years; underlines that this approach delivers a high degree of EU added value in political, social, economic and security terms; recalls that conflict prevention and mediation activities help to assert the presence and credibility of the EU on the international scene; highlights Parliament’s valuable contribution in the field of mediation and dialogue, especially in the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries, and calls for the further development of interinstitutional cooperation on mediation;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Notes that the stability of the Eastern Neighbourhood is important for the Union's own stability and encourages the development of closer relations with the Eastern Partnership; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to continue strengthening economic and connectivity ties, using trade and association agreements, access to the single market and deepened people-to-people contacts, including through visa facilitation and liberalisation when all requirements are fulfilled, as incentives to foster democratic reforms and the adoption of European rules and standards;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Reiterates the EU’s commitment to support its partners’ sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity; underlines the need to address all frozen conflicts in accordance with international law, norms and principles, to increase support to conflict-affected residents, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees and to counter attempts at destabilisation from third countries, in particular Russia; reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine; calls for continued efforts to ensure the implementation of the Minsk agreements and calls for the EU sanctions against Russia to be extended until it complies with these agreements; condemns, furthermore, the continued militarisation in the Georgian occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and calls on Russia to fulfil its obligations under international laws;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Underlines that the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO is fundamental to addressing the security challenges facing the EU and its neighbourhood;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Believes that qualified majority voting (QMV) cwould make the EU’s foreign and security policy more effective and would speed up the decision-making process; calls on the Council to make regular use of QMV in the cases envisaged in Article 31(2) of the TEU and calls on the European Council to take up this initiative by making use of the ‘passerelle clause’ contained in Article 31(3) of the TEU; encourages the Council to consider extending QMV to other areas of the CFSP;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Reiterates that sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of states, as well as inviolability of internationally recognised borders and peaceful settlement of disputes are key principles of the European security order, applying to all states, both within and beyond the EU’s borders;
Amendment 330 #
23. Recalls that climate change impacts all aspects of human life, including by increasing the likelihood of conflicts and violence; stresses that climate security concerns should be integrated throughout the foreign policy portfolio; underscores the fact that the EU should develop capacities to monitor climate change- related risks, which should include conflict sensitivity and crisis prevention policies; underlines the need to develop a comprehensive approach to climate change and security; stresses the value of climate diplomacy in this regard;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Underlines the growing geopolitical importance of the Arctic and its effect on the security situation in the EU and globally; urges the EU to work towards a more coherent EU internal and external policy, an Arctic strategy and concrete action plan on the EUs engagement in the Arctic, taking into account also the security and geostrategic aspect; notes the EU´s capacity to contribute to the resolution of potential security and geostrategic challenges;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23b. Regrets the fact that the transatlantic partnership is facing a significant number of challenges and disruptions, yet it remains indispensable for security and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic; regrets the progressive retreat of the US from the multilateral, rules-based world order;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)
Paragraph 23 c (new)
23c. Calls once again on the Member States to support reforms in the composition and functioning of the Security Council; emphasises that the EU is committed to strengthening the international role of the UN;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls for stronger support to the EU maritime security strategy as freedom of navigation is an increasing challenge; insists that freedom of navigation must be respected at all times; regrets that tensions are on the rise and violations of the Law of the Sea and international maritime law continue to persist around many of the world's major maritime hotspots, such as in the South China Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea etc.; notes that many of these tensions are oftentimes geopolitical in nature;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the EU Member States to make multilateral nuclear disarmament an EU foreign and security policy priority; believes that the EU must continue its efforts to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Recognises the important role of the civil and military missions that form part of the CSDP in maintaining peace, avoiding conflicts and strengthening international security; believes the EU has not yet made adequate use of its abundant resources in the field of CSDP; calls on the HRVP, on the Commission and on the Member States to step-up their efforts in the field of common foreign and security policy cooperation, in order to make CSDP civil and military missions more robust, to improve their operational capacity by means of increased flexibility, to increase efficiency and effectiveness on the ground, and make their mandates more encompassing, streamlined and clear;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Recognises the important role of the civil and military missions that form part of the CSDP in maintaining peace, avoiding conflicts and strengthening international security; believes that new instruments such as the European Peace Facility could enhance solidarity and burden-sharing between Member States when it comes to contributing to CSDP operations and could more generally help increase the effectiveness of the EU’s external action;
Amendment 391 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Calls on the EU to promote the increased participation of women in peacekeeping and peacebuilding processes and EU military and civil crisis management missions; recalls the increased success of conflict resolution when women have a formal role in the process;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Stresses that the terrorist threat remains present both in Europe and beyond; strongly believes that the fight against terrorism should remain a priority for the EU in the coming years; calls on the new European Commission to present a European action plan against terrorism;