Activities of Richard HOWITT related to 2014/2219(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report from the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European Parliament (debate)
Amendments (10)
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Insists that theEncourages Member States and the EU to further consider pooling of political, economic, financial and defence resources of the EU and its Member States must be combined to maximise the EU’'s influence in the world, produce synergies and ensure peace and stability in Europe;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates that the internal structures of the EEAS need to be reformed, without detracting from the need to continue pursuit of day to day foreign policy goals, so as to enable it to assist the HR/VP in all her roles and to enable her to advance strategic planning and coordinate political processes within the Council and the Commission; insists on the need to rationalise the EEAS top management structure and to streamline decision- making processes; reiterates its call for closer integration of the EU Special Representatives into the EEAS, including through a transfer of their budget from the CFSP operational budget into the EEAS budget;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the modernisation of the EU delegations network so as to reflect the needs of EU foreign policy in the 21st century, including by adapting staff numbers and expertise; asks the HR/VP to strengthen the authority of the head of delegation over all staff, irrespective of their institutional origin, and to simplify the administrative budgets of delegations towards a single funding source; points to the potential for synergies and economies of scale afforded by the strengthening of cooperation between Member State embassies and EU delegations; within this context seeks to ensure a major shift within delegations from European Commission to EEAS staff;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – indent 1
Paragraph 16 – indent 1
– launching – on the basis of the review of the EU’s strategic framework – a process of strategic reflection on objectives and priorities in the field of security and defence, setting out the required capabilities and options for deepening defence cooperation and welcomes the commitment of the High Representative/Vice-President that this review will involve the participation of both the European Parliament and national parliaments;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – indent 4
Paragraph 16 – indent 4
– further increasing common financing in the field of military CSDP operations through the Athena mechanism, so as to prevent financial considerations from compromising the EU’s ability to respond to crises without prejudice to budgetary prerogatives;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for a reform of the EU’s approach to migration policy; insists on the need to address the root causes of irregular migration, using all policy and assistance instruments, including development and trade policies, humanitarian aid, conflict prevention and, crisis management in combination with the need to strengthen routes of legal migration; reiterates its call to step up humanitarian support to countries which host refugees and to strengthen Regional Protection Programmes, run in collaboration with UNHCR close to regions of origin; stresses that migration management should be a priority in EU cooperation with neighbours in the east and south;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the establishment of the post of Vice-President for the Energy Union and the Commission’s communication on European Energy Security Strategy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to intensify cooperation in order to implement short- and long-term actions listed in this strategy; insists on the need to strengthen the coherence between EU foreign policy and other policies with an external dimension, such as energy policy, and expects the Commission’s new cluster- based structure to deliver results in this regard; urges further reflection on the compatibility of energy security goals with other objectives pursued by the EU; calls on the HR/VP to develop strategic priorities for the external energy policy enshrined in the general foreign policy objectives; acknowledges the importance of the upcoming Paris Summit on climate change; calls on the EEAS to prioritise diplomacy on climate change goals to build support for a strong and comprehensive agreement to achieve European goals to combat climate changes from third countries worldwide;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines the need to consolidate the EU and to strengthen its integration capacity, which is one of the Copenhagen criteria; reiterates the enlargement perspective for the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey, based on fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria; supports, in this connection, the Commission’s approach, which consists in addressing fundamental reforms in the area of the rule of law, public administration and economic governance early in the enlargement process;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Welcomes the ongoing negotiations of E3+3 with Iran and hopes that they will lead to a mutually acceptable agreement, ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme and offer a long-term prospect of Iran's full reintegration in the international community; warns that the imposition of new sanctions against Iran would jeopardize the talks and imperil the international community's unity on Iran's nuclear programme;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Believes that the US is the EU’s key strategic partner, and encourages closer coordination with the US on EU foreign policy, pursuing common approaches to challenges in the EU neighbourhood and at global level; underlines the strategic nature of the transatlantic relationship, including Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which has the potential to enable the transatlantic partners to set global standards and strengthen a rules- based approach to global governance; believes that Latin America is an important partner for the EU and that various modalities of triangular transatlantic cooperation should be developed;