Activities of María MUÑIZ DE URQUIZA related to 2010/2298(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the EU as a global actor: its role in multilateral organisations PDF (228 KB) DOC (129 KB)
Amendments (34)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to the internal arrangements set out by the European Council of September 2010 to improve the European Union's external policy through a more integrated approach1, 1 EUCO 21/01/10 REV 1 Annex I.
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the study commissioned by the European Parliament and entitled "The EU as a Global Actor: its role in multilateral organizations" (2011),
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the processes of globalisation reveal alarming systemic failures such as in financial markets and climate change policy; whereasentail a wide range of opportunities and challenges for global governance whilst revealing social loopholes and failures such as in financial markets, fight against poverty or climate change policy among others; considers that global threats and challenges require worldwide cooperation and collective action to tackle them as well as effective institutions and legitimate rules; recallings that if international organisations are to be legitimate and effective, they will have to reflect today's world,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the institutional place of the EU in the international system is becoming one of the strategic challenges that the EU faces in the world and whereas the status quo is not conducive to the EU's interests; whereas it is to be stressed that the EU can not be credible in the multilateral organisations if MS continue to practise inconsistent policies and compete with the EU or among themselves for visibility even when there are no policy differences,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the added value of EU membership in multilateral organisations lies in the fields where it has exclusive or shared competences: economic and trade matters, environmental policy, development aid, and security and defence policy; whereas the EU can also have an added value in those multilateral organisations or summits in which not all of its members are represented,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the Union, in accordance with Article 21.2.h. TEU, shall promote an international system based on stronger multilateral cooperation and good global governance and whereas the EU Member States, on the basis of Article 32. TEU, shall ensure, through the convergence of their actions, that the Union is able to assert its interests and values on the international scene, points out that the EU's commitment to become a global actor requires the capacity and the will to propose deep reforms of the multilateral organizations and fora,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the representation of the EU and its Member States in multilateral organisations, informal summits and international regimes is fragmented, often ineffective, and still varies considerably; whereas the Union's external representation has developed in a dispersed, inconsistent and rather ad hoc manner; whereas a highly fragmented external representation is likely to undermine the EU's commitment to effective multilateralism and global governance and whereas weak EU competences and ineffective coordination mechanisms may prevent the EU fromto speaking with a single voice in the international arena; whereas maximization of the full potential of the Treaty of Lisbon in the international sphere will require strong political will and flexibility on the part of the MS,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the global financial crisis has accelerated the shift of relative economic weight from advanced economies to emerging markets; whereas against this background the EU will only have a strong and effective voice in the world if it delivers a single message,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU Member States have adopted the priority of reforming and strengthening the UN in order to provide a more equitable geographical representation, to reflect today's shifting geopolitical realities in the membership of the Security Council, and to make it capable of fulfilling its responsibilities and acting effectively in providing solutions to global challenges and responding to key threats, whereas the EU provides more than one third of the UN regular budget, more than two-fifths of UN peace operations, and about half of all contributions to UN funds and programmes,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas institutional mechanisms such as ever closer and more effective coordination between EU MS can be seen as a way to the objective of joint external representation of the EU and its Member States; whereas consultations between national parliaments and the European Parliament in the areas of CFSP/CSDP could become a catalyser to this end,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the 2010 reform of voice andof quota reform in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank resulted in a signin important – although still insufficaient- increase in the voice and representation of emerging market and developing countries in the IFIs, which was facilitated by European contributions, whereas the role played by the EU – notwithstanding the size of its contribution to the capital of those institutions – does not entirely correspond to its weight in the world economy and in world trade and whereas the current set-up of external representation carries high transaction and coordination costs,
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Underlines the need, in an effort to drive EU foreign policy, to engage all emerging and existing powers whose involvement is critical to address the shared challenges of i.e. the economy, energy, climate change, migration flows and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; urges the EU to take the lead and become a central actor of cooperation and to reach a global common understanding with partners on the concerns about the existing rules and the ways they can be improved, while insisting on the importance of effective multilateralism, inclusiveness, equity, sustainable development, collective security, respect for human rights and the rule of law and fair trade practices;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Takes the view to further involve the non-state actors in multilateral policy- making, to promote and facilitate an improved consultation of civil society organisations and social partners in the future governance structures of international organisations; recognises their expertise, resources and outreach as key to enhancing the legitimacy and effectiveness of multilateral cooperation; recalls that a bottom-up approach is needed to address crisis situations;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is of the view that as a general rule, in cases of exclusive Union competences or shared Union competences that have been exercised by the latter, the EU shwould be the pre-eminent actor with full membership of the given multilateral organisation, while its Member States may also –- but not necessarily –- be present as members, but usually without an independent role; calls on EU Member StatesMS to reduce their representation, and thus costs, at meetings where the EU Delegation speaks on their behalf, and takes the view, furthermore, that where shared Union competences prevail, the norm shwould be for the EU and its Member States both to be members;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Points out that EU Delegations servicing clusters of international organisations, i.e. in New York, Geneva, Rome, Vienna and Nairobi, need particularly substantial reinforcement in terms of skilled human resources in order to successfully and efficiently represent EU interests; strongly recommends a "cooperative reinforcement" that allows several Member States to advance more swiftly in the EU's external representation, by pooling their national resources under the EEAS personnel;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Asks the VP/HR and the Commission to draw up a White Paper on the role of the EU in multilateral organisations, proposing a comprehensive and strategic approach both for the short run and the medium-term future through to 2020;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Taking into account that in several UN programmes and conferences (UNDP, UNCTAD, OHCHR, UNHRC), the EU is a mere observer, despite being an important financial contributor and having major policy interests, calls on the EU and its Member States to seek solutions on this discrepancy;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Insists on the need to strike a new institutional balance between the emerging role of the G-20, the UN and its agencies as well as the IFIs; in this regard, urges the EU and its Member States to enhance global governance and to seek solutions to further improve coordination between the G formations and the UN system, whereby the economic dimension could usefully be covered by these groups, provided that the UN maintains its central role and remains the legitimate body for global action; while considering the G-8 and G-20 as important fora for the definition of global responses to which the EU must continue to actively contribute through coordinated positions, calls on the EU and its Member States to seek improvements to global governance that make the most out of synergies and complementarities and do not run the risk of eroding the UN system; for this matter, considers that the EU could advocate to place the G-20 as an ad hoc ministerial and summit body of ECOSOC, while upgrading the latter into a policy-making and policy-monitoring council as envisaged in the UN Charter;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Considering the increased role of regional blocks in international affairs, and in full respect of the inter- governmental nature of the UN, calls on the EU MS to promote a change in the structure of the UNGA membership, enhancing the status of the RIOs with an advanced level of integration, such as having their own legal personality, to become enhanced observers;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Considering that voting cohesion among EU MS was significantly rising to some 95% from a rate of 74% back in the 1980s, commends the EU and its Member States for their efforts to present a unified EU voice and pursue effective coordination among themselves resulting in increasing voting cohesion, demonstrative of a common EU position in the UN General Assembly and in effect giving the EU a single voice on many UN matters;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council by building, on the basis of a first-ever negotiation text and widespread support for UNSC reform, a more cohesive position among EU Member States on the issues of legitimacy, composition, effectiveness and regional representation; reiteratpeatedly takes the view that an EU seat in an enlarged UNSC remains a central, long-term goal of the European Union; invites EU Member States on the UN Security Council to keep other EU Member States adequately informed of their positions and activities and share information about developments in the UNSC with other EU Member States; welcomes the newly established practice whereby a representative of the EU is generally invited to attend most scheduled UNSC deliberations and participate with some limited right to speak at the UNSCsuggests, in order to achieve that goal in the future, to work on the prior coordination of positions in the Council of the EU, the introduction of new permanent members, the replacement of the right of veto by super-qualified majorities in ever increasing fields, and the advancement of the Europe of Defence in order to make the EU an indispensable actor for global security;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Considering that monetary policy is an exclusive EU competence for those Member States sharing a single currency, urges the EU and its relevant Member States to promptly agree on a common seat and constituency on the IMF Executive Board, possibly starting with an euro constituency and a second EU non- Euro constituency, with a view, in the longer term, to securing consistent EU representation, involving the Ecofin Council Presidency and the Commission, subject to the European Parliament's scrutiny;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7
Subheading 7
The World Bank (WB) and the main Multilateral Development Banks
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)
Subheading 7 a (new)
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Reminds the EU and its Member States to use the opportunity of the next regular election of IMF Executive Directors in 2012 for rationalisation and pursue concerted efforts to pool all MS into a single euro area seat for the monetary union and a constituency for the rest of MS not having the euro;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the EU and its Member States to address, in agreement with theirits partners, the institutional anomaly whereby the EU is a large contributor to the WB Trust Funds, in fact a bigger aid donor than any of its Member States, and its operational partnerships with the Bank in the European and African regions are important, yet it has not even observer status on the WB Executive Board (only on its ministerial policy committee); stresses the importance of the EU as a whole as the largest global donor and highlights the efforts made by the Union to coordinate, align and reduce the fragmentation of its aid programs, most notably through the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the European Consensus on Development; in light of this recognises the importance of pursuing efforts to achieve a seat as an observer oin the Executive Board and aspiring to reform politically obsolete groupings of countries, by grouping EU Member States together under the same constituency; recalls that the same principle of pooling MS together under an EU constituency should apply to the main Multilateral Development Banks, most notably the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the African Development Bank;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. The BIS is an international financial institution which gathers the central banks of the most advanced countries, with the more recent inclusion of those of China, Brazil and India as well; given the exclusive competence of the ECB over monetary policy, proposes that the ECB be the only representative of the Euro area in the BIS Board, and the EC in the Basel Committee of Financial Regulation;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considering that regular meetings take place already on all levels, permanent military liaison arrangements have already been established and occasional joint meetings are organised between the EU's Political and Security Committee (PSC) and NATO's North Atlantic Council (NAC), calls on the EU and NATO to redouble their efforts towards the establishment of a framework for integrated cooperation including permanent structures ofor cooperation; proposes thato establish mutual observer status should be established at the level of the NAC and the PSC in order to improve cooperative arrangements in the spirit of the Treaty of Lisbon and following the adoption by NATO of its new strategic concept as well as due to the ambition to develop an EU- NATO strategic partnership; encourages EU and NATO representatives to seek a common ground for understanding the implementation of the two clauses introduced by the Lisbon Treaty: the mutual assistance clause and the solidarity clause;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Takes the view that arrangements allowing the EU to have recourse to NATO assets and capabilities need to be enhanced; underlines the need for the two organisations to develop a comprehensive approach to crisis management, which often requires a multi-faceted civilian- military response; reaffirms its belief that the latter is compatible with building on an autonomous Europe of Defence via permanent structured cooperation and the European Defence Agency (EDA);
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Considering also that Article 220(1) TFEU explicitly added the OSCE to the list of international organisations with which "appropriate forms of cooperation" shall be established, emphasises the need for the VP/HR to represent the EU as an observer at the OSCE and to take the lead as spokesperson and coordinator of the position of EU MS on OSCE matters;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. In order to enhance EU-CoE multilateral cooperation in the fields important for the EU as well, i.e. in education, human rights, the rule of law, democracy and good governance, as well as considering that the EU is the largest contributor to joint operating programmes with the CoE, underlines the need to reform the EU's presence and observer status in the CoE; emphasises the right to attend, with voting rights on behalf of the EU, meetings of the CoE Committee of Ministers when it performs, inter alia, its task of monitoring the execution of judgments given by the European Court of Human Rights as well as the right to be represented on the Steering Committee for Human Rights; furthermore, the admittance to the ECHR should give the EU a general right to participate fully in the CoE Committee of Ministers and vote, given the fact that the EU will probably join other CoE conventions (e.g. Convention on Cybercrime);
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Noting the EU's global economic and financial weight, the need to protect the EU's strategic interests on the international scene and the fact that the summit agendas of the G-8 have broadened considerably to address a series of politico-security issues ranging from human rights through regional security to arms control, is of the view that the EU should fully participate in the G-7/G-8 process and should be fully represented in the meetings of the G-7 finance ministers; points out the need for enhanced EU coordination before G-7 and G-8 meetings; calls on the EU and its Member States to work with partners to seek solutions for a single EU representation by just one President, both in the G-8 and the G-20, and for providing the EU representative with a specific mandate prior to those meetings in order for them to be able to commit themselves (the EU) if necessary;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considering the EU's exclusive or shared competences in areas where the G- 20 exerts significant and growing influence (i.e. financial market regulation, economic policy coordination, including exchange- rate issues, the international monetary system, development aid, multilateral trade issues, combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering, environmental issues or energy security), calls on the EU and its Member States to work with partners towards ensuringachieving full coordination and alignment of messages among the 5 European countries and the EU representative sitting at the G-20 table in order to ensure an effective participation byof the EU at G-20 ministerial meetings;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Notes the increased cooperation in 'mini-lateral' fora related to specific crisis situations, from the G-8 to the Contact Group on the Balkans, from the Middle East Quartet to the 5+1 on Iran; recalls that the European Union is built on solidarity between its members and, therefore, Member States should consult with partners on decisions of common interest which should ultimately deliver effective and consistent multilateral solutions for the benefit of all parties concerned; calls therefore the VP/HR to address the current challenges to effective multilateralism and believes that a revised strategy on this matter should aim at achieving more visibility and clout for the EU, including the obligation for the 'mini groups' to consult EU partners and seek a mandate from the EU;