22 Amendments of Michael GAHLER related to 2012/2138(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, at the same time, threats to global security are growing because of uncertainties linked to the attitudes of States and non-state actors engaged in programmes which dangerously encourage nuclear proliferation, the escalation of local crises in the EU's neighbourhood with major regional implications, such as the current Syrian conflict, the vagaries of the transition process in the Arab countries and its security dimension (Libya, Sinai ...), the evolution of the Afghan-Pakistan area in view of the prospect of the withdrawal of NATO troops and increased terrorist threats in Africa, in particular in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Nigeria,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasizes in this regard the need for the EU to assert its strategic autonomy through a strong and effective foreign, security and defence policy enabling it to act alone if necessary; emphasizes that this strategic autonomy will remain illusory without credible civilian and military capabilities; recalls that this strategic autonomy is being built with due respect for existing alliances, while maintaining a strong transatlantic link, as stressed in Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned about the prospect of strategic decline facing the EU, not only through the downward trend in defence budgets, but also because of the relative and progressive marginalisation of its crisis and conflict management instruments and capabilities, in particular the military ones; believes that the Union must seek to not delegate its security to otherhas an important role as security provider for the Member States and its citizens;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, despite the continuing validity of its assertions and analyses, the European Security Strategy, which was drawn up in 2003 and finalised in 2008, is beginning to look outdatedbe overtaken by events, since a strategic vision formed in 2003 is no longer sufficient to understand today's world; calls therefonce more on the High Representative / Vice-President of the Commission and the Council rapidly to present a White Paper on the Security and Defence of the EU, which precisely defines the EU's strategic interests and takes account of changing threats and the development of relations with our allies and partners, but also with emerging countries; stresses the importance of such a strategic framework to guide the external action of the Union European, channel the foreign policies of Member States towards common goals, take stock of the existing civilian and military capabilities and also guide the medium and long-term strategic European planning of the civilian and military capabilities to be developed and acquired within the context of the CSDP;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the Council conclusions on common security and defence of 23 July 2012 and the announcement of a European Council in the course of 2013 on defence issues; encourages the Member States and the President of the European Council to involve the European Parliament in the preparation of the Council meeting; welcomes the report of the High Representative / Vice- President of the Commission on the main aspects and basic choices of the CFSP which is partly devoted to security and defence issues; insists, however, on the need for a more ambitious vision of the future of the CSDP; calls on Member States, with the support of the High Representative / Vice-President of the Commission, to use to its full potential this instrument which is enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty in a context in which many crises persist, including on Europe's doorstep, where U.S. disengagement is increasingly evident;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. EWelcomes the Council conclusions on common security and defence of 23 July 2012 and the announcement to present a joint communication on the comprehensive approach by the European Commission and the High Representative; reminds both to engage with the European Parliament in this endeavour; emphasizes that the strength of the European Union compared to other organizations lies in its capacity to mobilise a whole range of political, economic and humanitarian instruments to support its civilian and military crisis management operations and that this comprehensive approach gives it a unique and widely appreciated flexibility and efficiency;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes, however, that the implementation of athe comprehensive approach must not contribute to a marginalisation of the CSDP; emphasizes that the CSDP, through these operations, must remain the EU's preferred crisis management instrument, ahas to guarantee that the Union answers to the specific risks wit ish the only one able to impart political credibility and visibility to the Union's actions, while allowing political control; considers that, in a context of crisis, the task of the other external action instruments is to support CSDP operations, subsequently, in the longer term, to take over when the situatappropriate civilian and / or military means coming either from the Union onr the ground so permits and the political urgency has passedMember States;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – introductory part
Paragraph 9 – introductory part
9. Recalls that the Lisbon Treaty introduced a number of significant innovations in the CSDP that have yet to be implemented; regrets in this regard the neglect of the High Representative / Vice- President of the European Commission of past parliamentary resolutions calling for a more active and coherent advancement in the implementation of the new instruments of the Lisbon Treaty:
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the new EU strategy for the Horn of Africa, which implements the comprehensive approach to tackle piracy and its underlying causes, and the leading role played by the Union on security issues in the region, which enhances the EU's visibility and credibility in crisis management; welcomes the activation of the EU Operations Centre in May 2012 to support the CSDP missions in the Horn of Africa;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. BelievesWelcomes the past humanitarian aid and civil protection activities of the European Commission and the Member States in Libya and the neighbouring countries in support of UN organizations; believes however that the Libyan crisis could have been the appropriate opportunity for the EU to demonstrate its ability to act in a more comprehensive manner, including militarily if necessary, in full compliance with UN Security Council resolutions, when faced with a major crisis in its back yarimmediate neighbourhood which directly affects the stability of its environment; regrets that the lack of common political will among Member States and an ideological reluctance to see the Union deploy its own capabilities have relegated the Union to playing a secondary role ; takes note of the reluctance of some Members of the UN Security Council to authorize the EU to launch its humanitarian military operation in Libya;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 17
Subheading 17
Civilian personnel and capabilities
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 – introductory part
Paragraph 49 – introductory part
49. Regrets in this regard the neglect of past parliamentary resolutions by the High Representative / Vice-President of the European Commission and the Member States calling for sufficient and competent civilian personnel and substantial capabilities; recalls in this respect the Council conclusions of 21 March 2011 on the priorities regarding civilian CSDP capabilities and considers that they are still just as relevant, namely:
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 18
Subheading 18
Military personnel and capabilities
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Notes that military action in Libya, which was initiated by France and the United Kingdom with the support of the United States and subsequently pursued by NATO, has highlighted the limited ability of some European States to engage in high- intensity conflicts, but also the problems they face in conducting such activities over a period of time, due in particular to a lack of basic capabilities such as air-to-air refuelling, intelligence gathering and precision-guided weaponry;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Welcomes the initial progress made by the European Union's ‘pooling and sharing’ initiative and pays tribute to the work of the European Defence Agency (EDA) which has identified 11 priority areas for action; stresses in particular the progress achieved in four areas: air-to-air refuelling, maritime surveillance, medical support and training; calls, however, for this initiative to be provided with a strategic framework; regrets however that so far the initiative has not yet filled any of the gaps identified in the Headline Goal 2010; takes note of the Member States reluctance to shoulder the burden to be a lead nation for one of the suggested 300 pooling and sharing projects presented by the EU Military Staff in April 2011; in view of the European Council on defence next year calls on the Member States to take stock of existing capabilities within the European Union and make the initiative ultimately sustainable in order to start a European defence planning process;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Supports in particular the project for mid-air refuelling, which also has an acquisition component; regrets in this regard however the expected limited result of the endeavour in just renewing existing capabilities instead of creating new ones; insists that Member States should maintain the European character of this initiative and believes that OCCAR would be well placed to manage the acquisition component;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Considers that the establishment of the European Air Transport Command (EATC) is a concrete example of successful ‘pooling and sharing’ and stresses that the creation of an A400M fleet within this structure would greatly enhance the projection capabilities of the European Union and its Member States; encourages all participating states to insert all available transport means into the EATC; encourages non-participating EU Member States to take part in the EATC;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
Paragraph 63
63. NWelcomes the Commission's proposal on the Horizon 2020 for future EU financed civilian and military research and procurement in service of CSDP missions; notes with concern the reduction in the appropriations allocated to research and technology among the Member States, which in the long term will affect the ability of Europeans to maintain a credible defence capability;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Welcomes the efforts of the European Defence Agency to maintain a European industrial and technological defence base and the Barnier / Tajani initiative to create within the European Commission a Task Force charged with preserving and developing this strategic tool whose function is to ensure the autonomy of the EU and its Member States in the field of defence; regrets the disregard of the European Commission to keep the European Parliament informed on the ongoing work of the Task Force; calls on the Commission to involve the Parliament in the future;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72
Paragraph 72
72. Notes that, despite the changes made to the ATHENA mechanism, previous Parliament's resolutions and the European Union battlegroup deployment doctrine, as demanded, for example. in the Weimar letter, none of the battlegroups have so far been deployed, even though they could act as a ‘force of first entry’ until relieved by other forces better equipped for the long haul;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75
Paragraph 75
75. Believes that the role of coordinating missions in the Horn of Africa entrusted to the Operations Centre is a first step towards the creation of a European planning and operations conduct capability which is properly staffed and endowed with sufficient means of communications and control; regrets however that the Centre is neither permanent nor the central point for planning and conducting military and civilian missions;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76
Paragraph 76
76. Reiterates its call for the creation of an EU Operational Headquarters (OHQ) for operational planning and the conduct of civilian and military operations in the European External Action Service, if necessary through enhancpermanent structured cooperation;