BETA

18 Amendments of Geoffrey VAN ORDEN related to 2012/2319(INI)

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls its firm attachment to a comprehensive approach to crisis management, using a wide toolbox of civilian ~~and military~~ instruments, as expressed notably in its resolutions on the annual reports on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP); stresses that military structures and capabilities form an integral part of such a comprehensive approach, underpinning the EU's ability to respond to threats, conflicts and crises, should all other means fail;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Reiterates its ~~grave~~ concern at the continuing cuts in national defence budgets, ~~with too little coordination between the Member States, hampering efforts to close capability gaps and undermining the credibility of the CSDP~~and the impact this has on efforts to close capability gaps; urges the Member States to reverse this ~~irresponsible~~ trend, a~~s well as to step up efforts at the EU level to limit its consequences through increased cooperation~~nd reinvest their political energy and resources in the NATO military alliance;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes with regret that, ten years after the first autonomous EU-led military operation, the EU still does not possess a permanent military planning and conduct capability, and deplores the inhibiting effect this is having on the EU's ability to respond to acute crises; recalls that the current arrangements, which require ad hoc activation of a national headquarters, constitute a purely reactive approach and do not providthat with the activation of the temporary Operations Centre (OpsCen), the EU has access to more than adequate planning and conduct capabilities; recalls also that missions can - when deemed strictly necessary - have rescour~~ces for the necessary advance planning~~se to national headquarters;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Takes the view that the activated Operations Centre, although welcomed for its role in coordinating missions in the Horn of Africa, represents a largely insufficient step towards such a permanent capability, owing to its limited resources and its strictly support-related functions; deplores the fact that the initiative of the five ‘Weimar Plus’ countries has not led to any more significant result; urges the Member States to agree, as a first step, on tasking the Operations Centre with the operational planning of non-executive missions, such as EU training missions for Mali and Somalia;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls again for the creation of a fully- fledged EU Operational Headquarters within the European External Action Service (EEAS), if necessary through permanent structured cooperation; stresses that it should be a civilian- military structure, responsible for the planning and conduct of both EU civilian missions and military operations, with separate civilian and military chains of command;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Points out that the creation of an EU Operational Headquarters would greatly enhance the EU's institutional memory in crisis management, contribute to the development of a common strategic culture through the secondment of national personnel, maximise the benefits of civilian-military coordination, allow for the pooling of certain functions, reduce costs in the longer term, and facilitate political oversight by Parliament and the Council;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Notes that a permanent EU OHQ would be a financially and militarily wasteful imitative at a time of diminishing defence budgets and would duplicate the role of NATO's SHAPE headquarters, in which all EU Member States have, at some stage, been involved;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Underlines the need for a permanent military planning and conduct capability also with regard to the obligations resulting from the mutual defence clause and the solidarity clause, and stresses the necessity to ensure an adequate level of preparedness and rapidity of response should any of the two clauses be invoked; calls on the VP/HR to propose practical arrangements for the mutual defence clause to define response at EU level;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Recognises th~~e contribution of the EU battle-groups to the transformation of Member States' armed forces, driving military interoperability and promoting multinational cooperation; notes, however, that the concept~~at the concept of 'EU battle-groups' has not yet proven its utility as a rapid reaction instrument in operations, and that ~~without substantial modifications any agreement on~~any possible deployment appears unlikely;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Calls for a more structured approach to address key capability shortfalls at European level and in particular in the areas of key force enablers and force multipliers – such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, strategic air lift, helicopters, medical support, air-to-air refuelling and precision-guided munitions – in close cooperation and full complementarity with NATO; welcomes the initial results of pooling and sharing initiatives managed by the EDA but stresses that further progress in these and other areas is a necessity; deplores the fact that, although European armed forces have repeatedly faced the lack of such force enablers and force multipliers in CSDP and other operations, none of the identified capability gaps have yet been filled in a satisfactory way;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Reiterates its call on the Member States to consider joint ownership of certain expensive capabilities, notably space capabilities, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or strategic lift assets; welcomes the work of the Commission exploring the options for developing EU-owned capabilities, exploiting the potential of synergies between defence and civilian security needs, such as in the areas of civil protection or border surveillance;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Welcomes the adoption of the code of conduct on pooling and sharing as anwell as NATO's 'Smart Defence' initiative as important steps towards more cooperation in Europe and stresses the need to establish a first strategic assessment of its implementation by the end of the year; expects the European Council in December 2013 to be a significant milestone in terms of giving a political impulse to pooling and sharing and of giving clear guidance about the implementation; recalls that the principle of pooling and sharing does not replace either the investments needed to procure military capabilities or the political framework that defines how such capabilities should be deployed;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Stresses the importance of ensuring the security of supply of the equipment needed by Member States armed forces in order for them to fulfil their commitments in international crises; is seriously concerned about the increasing dependencies on non-European technologies and sources of supply and its implications for European autonomy; underlines the strategic importance of the defence industry, and calls on the EDA and the Commission to advance their work on identifying key industrial capabilities to be preserved or developed in Europe and on reducing European supply dependency;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. Reiterates the need to ensure overall coherence at EU level and invites the Member States to coordinate their initiatives more closely within the EU Military Committee, based on inputs from the EDA;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

39. Reiterates its full support for European structures and projects in the area of education and training and stresses, in particular, the contribution of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) to the promotion of a common security culture, as well as its potential in identifying and developing cost-saving collaborative projects between national institutions; calls on the Member States to strengthen the College by providing it with funding from the Union budget; encourages further development of the European initiative for the exchange of young officers, inspired by Erasmus, as well as the participation of European military officers' education and training institutes in the Erasmus programme;deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40

40. Strongly supports p'Pooling and sSharing' and 'Smart Defence' initiatives in education and training where significant savings can be made without affecting national sovereignty as regards operational deployments; ~~highlight~~notes the success of the EDA's Helicopter Training Programme and welcomes the launch of tactical air transport exercises by EDA, which should lead to the establishment of a permanent European airlift tactics training course; looks forward to more progress in developing a common integrated training system to train future fighter pilots, but recalls that NATO has similar projects in this domain; welcomes EDA's work on more pooled and shared training in the areas of cyber defence, countering improvised explosive devices and naval operations;

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 – point 1

~~· the establishment of a permanent EU Operational Headquarters,~~deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 – point 3

~~· increased funding for the EDA;~~deleted

2013/04/16
Committee: AFET