Activities of Attila ARA-KOVÁCS related to 2019/2135(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy - Annual report on the implementation of the common security and defence policy (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report
Amendments (20)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes the lasting deterioration in the Union’s strategic environment in the face of multiple challenges directly or indirectly affecting the security of its Member States and citizens: armed conflicts immediately to the east and south of the European continent, jihadist terrorism, cyber attacks, uncontrolled migrationdisinformation campaigns, increasing threats to natural resources, climate change, etc.;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Deplores the fact that, in this context, some of these actors are deliberately circumventing or attempting to destroy the multilateral mechanisms essential to maintaining peace; and they might become a direct threat to our security;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Continues to condemn Russia’s military intervention and illegal annexation of Crimean peninsula; ensures support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Notes that targeted restrictive measures can be effective tools, but stresses that they should not affect innocent people and should be in line with the principles of UN Charter and of the CFSP;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Reiterates its support for Commission President Juncker’s call in his State of the Union Address on 12 September 2018 to move from unanimity to QMV in specific areas of the CFSP, including decisions on sanctions;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the Union has been slow to react and adapt – politically, diplomatically and militarily – to new crises and to this new international context; considers that, in the specific area of defence, insufficient investment, differences in capabilities and a lack of interoperability, but also, and above all, a political reluctance to implement the robust provisions provided for in the European treaties and the numerous cooperation arrangements between Member States have weakened the Union’s ability to play a decisive role in external crises; therefore urges the European Council to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting in the field of CFSP and CSDP where the Treaty on European Union allows it; including on decisions on EU civilian missions; recognises, further, that no country is able by itself to address the security challenges on the European continent and in its immediate environment;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is convinced that the response to the Union’s security challenges lies primarily in strengthening its strategic autonomy; therefore, supports moving ahead on security and defence integration, including, in the long term, the creation of a common European Army;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Welcomes the achievements of the last five years regarding the strengthening of the Common Security and Defence Policy and calls on the Council and the Commission to develop further the Union’s capacities to act as a global partner, representing the interests of European citizens and acting as a positive force in international relations;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers, therefore, that European strategic autonomy is based, above all, on the ability of the Union to assess a crisis situation and take a decision autonomously, which necessarily entails an independent and efficient decision-making process, the availability of means of assessment and a freedom to analyse and take action; considers, also, that European strategic autonomy is based on the ability of the Union to act alone when its interests are at stake (theatres of operations not considered as priorities by its European partners) or within the framework of existing cooperation arrangements; considers, lastly, that European strategic autonomy is part of a multilateral framework which respects commitments within the UN and complements the (NATO) alliances and partnerships to which most Member States are signed up; stresses that strategic autonomy does not mean that the Union will systematically act alone, everywhere and always;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that the affirmation of European strategic autonomy depends on the establishment of European defence coopeintegration in the technological, capability, industrial and operational fields; considers that only practical and flexible cooperation based on pragmatic initiatives will make it possible to gradually overcome the difficulties, forge a genuine common strategic culture and shape common responses tailored to the continent’s main security and defence issues;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Welcomes the recognition that there is no security without women and stresses the importance of the participation of women in negotiations and missions;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses the need to assess missions and operations on a regular basis in order to make them more effective; calls on the EEAS and the Commission to draw up mandates and budgets which are appropriate to the operations concerned and to provide for an exit strategy; calls, in that connection, for more regular information sharing and consultations with the relevant parliamentary committees prior, during and after the missions and operations, and calls on the latter to focus their missions and delegations on areas where CSDP missions and operations are deployed; demands that the European Parliament - alongside national parliaments has a strengthened role in CSDP respect, so as to guarantee the parliamentary oversight of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy and its budget;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Recalls that the solidarity clause (Article 222 TFEU) also provides the Union and the Member States with the possibility of providing assistance to a Member State that is the object of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster; recalls that the 2013 Cybersecurity Strategy of the European Union states that “a particularly serious cyber incident or attack could constitute sufficient ground for a Member State to invoke the EU Solidarity Clause (article 222 TFEU); reminds that the Council Decision 2014/415/EU ‘on the arrangements for the implementation by the Union of the solidarity clause’, establishes that the solidarity clause calls for the Union to mobilise all the instruments at its disposal, including the structures developed in the framework of the CSDP; calls on Member States to consider the activation of the solidarity clause in the future;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
Amendment 370 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Stresses the still virtual nature of the European Defence Fund; points out that that this instrument has not yet been finally approved, with only partial and political agreement having been given in April 2019; stresses the importance of maintaining Parliament’s position concerning the amount of the EDF, the involvement of third countries and the establishment of an appropriate intellectual property policy in relation to security and defence in order to protect research results; draws attention, in that connection, to the highly sensitive and strategic nature of defence research, both for industrial competitiveness and for the strategic autonomy of the Union; calls for the initial lessons learned from the implementation of the EDIDP (in particular concerning the application of derogations for eligible entities), the pilot project and the preparatory action on defence research to be properly taken into account; calls on the Member States to be fully involved in the decision-making process in order to avoid bureaucratic excesses and to ensure that the programmes included address the strategic needs of the CSDP and the Member States; considers that the success of the EDF will depend on its ability to cater for the specific defence needs of the participating states and to guarantee the availability of sufficient budgetary resources, whilst ensuring that industrial know-how is not duplicated, national defence investment is not crowded out and cooperation does not become over- complicated; considers that developing the European defence industry by regulating access for entities controlled by non-EU third parties to projects financed by the Fund is fully consistent with the European ambition of strategic autonomy;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Believes that the Union and its Member States face an unprecedented threat in the form of cyber attacks as well as cyber crime, disinformation campaigns and terrorism; believes that the nature of cyber attacks makes them a threat that requires a Union-level response; encourages the Member States to provide mutual assistance in the event of a cyber attack against any one of them;
Amendment 455 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Stresses the importance of cooperation between the Union and other international institutions, in particular the African Union and the OSCE; considers that the Union should also strengthen dialogue and cooperation with third countries in the region and with regional and sub-regional organisations; also believes that a stable and peaceful environment in the Union’s neighbourhood countries are essential in order to stabilize the region, protect the residents, keep the peace and prevent conflicts. Notes with regret that the European Council failed to move forward concerning the enlargement of the Union towards the Western Balkans, in particular with respect to the opening of membership negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. Urges the Member States, the Council and the European Commission to maintain a strong relationship with the countries of the Western Balkans, acting on earlier commitments of the EU as regards their European perspective, supporting their reforms aiming at the fulfilment of the Copenhagen Criteria for EU Membership; ensuring that each country is judged according to their real progress towards these requirements; maintaining a credible framework for enlargement; and further deepening the region’s integration in order to ensure the stable and peaceful development of the Western Balkans as a strategic partner of the European Union;
Amendment 465 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)
Paragraph 60 a (new)
60a. In order to tackle the threat of nuclear proliferation stresses the importance of multilateral negotiations among the European Union and the involved parties; urges to respect the nuclear treaties, to support closing new treaty which replace the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces)Treaty and to renewing the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2020;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Considers that progress in European defence will pave the way for major structural changes; notes the announcement of the creation of a Directorate-General for Defence and Space at the Commission under the responsibility of the Commissioner- designate for the Internal Market; notes that this new DG should be responsible for supporting, coordinating or complementing the Member States’ actions in the area of European defence and would thus contribute to strengthening European strategic autonomy; notes the definition of its five main tasks (implementation and oversight of the EDF, creation of an open and competitive European defence equipment market, implementation of the action plan on military mobility, enhancement of a strong and innovative space industry, implementation of the future space programme), but calls on the Commission to provide further details on the role and responsibilities of the new DG; Wonders how it will coordinate its work with that of other defence policy structures which have other responsibilities (EDA, EEAS, etc.)including the establishment of a common defence in a near future, as foreseen by article 42.2 TEU; is of the opinion that the Conference on the future of Europe will have to reflect on European defence, adequately responding to developments in the EU’s strategic environment, including by considering amendments to the Treaties;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 a (new)
Paragraph 61 a (new)
61a. Notes the announcement of the creation of a Directorate-General for Defence and Space at the Commission under the responsibility of the Commissioner-designate for the Internal Market; notes that this new DG should be responsible for supporting, coordinating or complementing the Member States’ actions in the area of European defence and would thus contribute to strengthening European strategic autonomy; notes the definition of its five main tasks (implementation and oversight of the EDF, creation of an open and competitive European defence equipment market, implementation of the action plan on military mobility, enhancement of a strong and innovative space industry, implementation of the future space programme), but calls on the Commission to provide further details on the role and responsibilities of the new DG; wonders how it will coordinate its work with that of other defence policy structures which have other responsibilities (EDA, EEAS, etc.);