Activities of Emma McCLARKIN related to 2016/2052(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on European Defence Union
Amendments (14)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges that the current geopolitical environment and the situation in Europe call for the Union to assume greater responsibilities in the fields of both external and internal security and to pursue more ambitious goals such as a European Army, andrequires Member States to do more to invest, protect and strengthen national defence capabilities, budgets and improve security readiness, and as such welcomes the European Council’'s conclusions of June 2015 asking for further development of both civilian and military national capabilities and the strengthening of Europe’'s defence industry;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that the internal market instruments offer solutions for effective cooperation among Member States and for building on economies of scale, in order to avoid duplications and make expenditure more efficient in times of budget constraints and in view of the imminent risks of the EU defenc; notes also the potential for dual-use stector losing critical expertise and innovation, autonomy and competitiveness advantagehnologies in supporting this;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Identifies the future skills gap emerging as a result of the aging workforce in the defence sector, therefore welcomes the EU Commission's intention to support industrial and commercial efforts to encourage young professionals and apprentices to enter this sector, and moves to utilise wider EU projects such as the New Skills Agenda, COSME and a "Blueprint for Sectoral Co-operation on Skills" to target this gap;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Member States to fully enforce Directive 2009/81/EC, concerning procurement in the fields of defence and sensitive security, and Directive 2009/43/EC, concerning the transfer of defence-related products, while noting that Member States have made little use of the available tools, for example joint purchases through central purchasing bodies, such as the European Defence Agencypports the Commission in ensuring complete implementation of these directives, but equally encourages the Commission to issue increased guidance and assistance on the implementation and interpretation of these directives at the request of Member States;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recognises the success and best practice of The Letter of Intent Framework Agreement in supporting defence industrial goals and encourages the Commission to take note of the these principles and goals, primarily in the areas of security of supply and treatment of technical information;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the new CSDP provides greater flexibility, for example throughthe potential for flexibility and stronger Member State cooperation within a ‘'permanent structured cooperation’' framework, which could take various forms, including joint development and procurement; calls for the creation of a structure for the exchange of information on terrorism and cyber security, within a framework accepted by national governments and security services;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that stimulating technological developments in Europe is vital in order to satisfy the upcoming needs of European armed forces across Europe, as is fostering a more integrated internal market through the development of joint cooperative programmes, under which the Joint Research Centre could aggregate dual-use technology efforts across the EU;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Notes the current preparatory action for defence research in the 2017- 2020 budget, and hopes that this becomes a permanent research field in the multiannual financial framework as commitment of member states into defence research and development continues to decline to the detriment of the defence in, and security of, Europe, however warns of the danger and redundancy of the programme should the preparatory action inadvertently duplicate efforts of member states or international bodies, such as NATO;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the importance of intensifying the synergies between security and defence and the synergies with other Union policies, and of building on integrated capabilities in order to develop common approaches in the areas of, for example, hybrid threats, terrorism, external border security, illegal immigration, common intelligence, cybersecurity and customs controls, notes that value of exchanging ideas and development with NATO on these topics is mutually beneficial to European and Transatlantic security;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Recognises that, in pursuing a defence policy, the EU regularly duplicates efforts to improve defence capabilities and resources that are already established under NATO, therefore welcomes the Joint declaration from the NATO Warsaw Summit of 2016 on the NATO-EU strategic partnership, which recognises the role of NATO and the support the EU can play in achieving common goals;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Notes steps taken by the EDA and the EU Commission to improve mutual recognition of Defence standards and requirements in industry, but warns against doing this in isolation of international allies and partners, specifically NATO;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Recalls the need to improve SME access to defence supply chains recognising that SMEs are a vital part of achieving a prosperous European defence industrial base, as such suggests that in combination with universal and comprehensive implementation of 2009/81/EC, that greater transparency in supply chains, contracts and notifications of opportunities to tender should be encouraged;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that valid sovereignty concerns and divergent threat perceptions in the different Member States and differing national industries and operational capabilities hampermust be balanced against efforts to integration ofe the defence sector and contribute to market fragmentation, and believes that a European Defence Union may create more trust, align the different plans for developmenstrengthening to the benefit of all national defence capabilities and ultimately lead to more common projects and the openingthe security of the marketsEU.