BETA


2014/2690(RSP) Resolution on EU foreign policy in a world of cultural and religious differences

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead AFET GIANNAKOU Marietta (icon: PPE PPE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 132-p2

Events

2014/04/17
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2014/04/17
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 518 to 27 votes, with 30 abstentions, a resolution prepared by the Committee on Foreign Affairs on EU foreign policy in a world of cultural and religious differences.

Principles of EU foreign policy : Members reiterate their conviction that, when defending its own interests in the world, the Union must always base its policies on the promotion of the fundamental values on which it is founded (democracy, the rule of law and human rights, social justice and the fight against poverty) and on respect for other countries.

They note in particular that the transition towards democracy in numerous states throughout the world in the past two decades, and more recently the events of the uprisings in the Arab world, have shown that the aspirations for democracy, social justice, human dignity and equal participation are a universal driving force within and across diverse cultural and religious backgrounds and should not be viewed solely as a Western concern. They deplore the fact that the notion of cultural and religious differences has repeatedly been instrumentalised to justify blatant violations of human rights by authoritarian regimes and radical non-state actors.

Members recall that respect for religious freedoms is an important external policy principle , and that they repudiate the advocacy and dissemination of fundamentalist religious tenets aimed at eroding or violating the rights of particular communities.

Challenges of religious influence in the international political arena : Members consider that the European Union should be more assertive in its support for the promotion and protection of human rights and social and political rights by civil society. They deplore in passing the fact that, in many non-European countries, even where diverse religious expressions are tolerated, secularism and atheistic or agnostic views are nevertheless often subject to legal or social discrimination and that atheists are facing threats, pressure and danger. They propose therefore that the religious leaders of the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) engage in interreligious dialogue, in a spirit of unity and tolerance.

Credibility, coherence and consistency of EU policy : Members call on all Member States to repeal any existing laws which contradict the fundamental freedom of religion and conscience and freedom of expression. They reaffirm their support for the inclusion in all EU agreements with third countries, of reciprocal conditionality and political clauses on human rights and democracy , as a common reaffirmation of the mutual commitment to these values with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the suspension mechanism cannot be abused by either side.

Recommendations to the European External Action Service (EEAS) and to the Commission : Parliament also calls on the EEAS and the EU Delegations worldwide to further engage with third countries and regional organisations in the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. They call on the EU to make culture an even stronger part of political dialogue with partner countries and regions around the world, promoting cultural exchanges and systematically integrating culture into development programmes and projects. They stress, in this connection, the need to streamline the Commission’s internal operations within the various DGs which focus on external relations (foreign policy, enlargement, trade and development), education, culture and the digital agenda. Lastly, Parliament encourages all Heads of EU Delegations to make full use of digital diplomacy tools through their active and consistent presence in the social media.

Documents
2014/04/17
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2014/04/16
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2014/04/11
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2014/03/31
   EP - Vote in committee
2014/03/18
   EP - GIANNAKOU Marietta (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in AFET

Documents

Votes

B7-0365/2014 - Résolution #

2014/04/17 Outcome: +: 518, 0: 30, -: 27
DE FR GB PL ES RO IT SE BE BG HU AT DK SK CZ PT NL HR FI EL IE LT SI LV LU MT EE CY
Total
79
60
54
44
44
23
30
17
17
15
17
17
13
12
18
18
21
10
9
13
8
7
5
7
4
4
3
5
icon: PPE PPE
203

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Czechia PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Malta PPE

For (1)

1
2
icon: S&D S&D
142

Netherlands S&D

2

Finland S&D

2

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
65
3

Slovakia ALDE

For (1)

1

Finland ALDE

1

Greece ALDE

1

Ireland ALDE

2

Lithuania ALDE

1

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1
2
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
47

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

4

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Portugal Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
41

Italy ECR

1

Denmark ECR

For (1)

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1
icon: EFD EFD
21

United Kingdom EFD

2

Belgium EFD

For (1)

1

Denmark EFD

Abstain (1)

1

Slovakia EFD

For (1)

1

Netherlands EFD

For (1)

1

Finland EFD

For (1)

1

Greece EFD

1

Lithuania EFD

2
icon: NI NI
26

France NI

2

United Kingdom NI

4

Spain NI

1

Italy NI

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Belgium NI

Abstain (1)

1

Hungary NI

For (1)

3

Austria NI

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

4

Ireland NI

For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
29

France GUE/NGL

Against (1)

4

Spain GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

3

Portugal GUE/NGL

Abstain (2)

4

Netherlands GUE/NGL

2

Ireland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Latvia GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

1

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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  • date: 2014-03-31T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2014-04-16T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20140416&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2014-04-17T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=24576&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2014-04-17T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2014-0456 title: T7-0456/2014 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 518 to 27 votes, with 30 abstentions, a resolution prepared by the Committee on Foreign Affairs on EU foreign policy in a world of cultural and religious differences. Principles of EU foreign policy : Members reiterate their conviction that, when defending its own interests in the world, the Union must always base its policies on the promotion of the fundamental values on which it is founded (democracy, the rule of law and human rights, social justice and the fight against poverty) and on respect for other countries. They note in particular that the transition towards democracy in numerous states throughout the world in the past two decades, and more recently the events of the uprisings in the Arab world, have shown that the aspirations for democracy, social justice, human dignity and equal participation are a universal driving force within and across diverse cultural and religious backgrounds and should not be viewed solely as a Western concern. They deplore the fact that the notion of cultural and religious differences has repeatedly been instrumentalised to justify blatant violations of human rights by authoritarian regimes and radical non-state actors. Members recall that respect for religious freedoms is an important external policy principle , and that they repudiate the advocacy and dissemination of fundamentalist religious tenets aimed at eroding or violating the rights of particular communities. Challenges of religious influence in the international political arena : Members consider that the European Union should be more assertive in its support for the promotion and protection of human rights and social and political rights by civil society. They deplore in passing the fact that, in many non-European countries, even where diverse religious expressions are tolerated, secularism and atheistic or agnostic views are nevertheless often subject to legal or social discrimination and that atheists are facing threats, pressure and danger. They propose therefore that the religious leaders of the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) engage in interreligious dialogue, in a spirit of unity and tolerance. Credibility, coherence and consistency of EU policy : Members call on all Member States to repeal any existing laws which contradict the fundamental freedom of religion and conscience and freedom of expression. They reaffirm their support for the inclusion in all EU agreements with third countries, of reciprocal conditionality and political clauses on human rights and democracy , as a common reaffirmation of the mutual commitment to these values with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the suspension mechanism cannot be abused by either side. Recommendations to the European External Action Service (EEAS) and to the Commission : Parliament also calls on the EEAS and the EU Delegations worldwide to further engage with third countries and regional organisations in the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. They call on the EU to make culture an even stronger part of political dialogue with partner countries and regions around the world, promoting cultural exchanges and systematically integrating culture into development programmes and projects. They stress, in this connection, the need to streamline the Commission’s internal operations within the various DGs which focus on external relations (foreign policy, enlargement, trade and development), education, culture and the digital agenda. Lastly, Parliament encourages all Heads of EU Delegations to make full use of digital diplomacy tools through their active and consistent presence in the social media.
  • date: 2014-04-17T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
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    • The European Parliament adopted by 518 to 27 votes, with 30 abstentions, a resolution prepared by the Committee on Foreign Affairs on EU foreign policy in a world of cultural and religious differences.

      Principles of EU foreign policy: Members reiterate their conviction that, when defending its own interests in the world, the Union must always base its policies on the promotion of the fundamental values on which it is founded (democracy, the rule of law and human rights, social justice and the fight against poverty) and on respect for other countries.

      They note in particular that the transition towards democracy in numerous states throughout the world in the past two decades, and more recently the events of the uprisings in the Arab world, have shown that the aspirations for democracy, social justice, human dignity and equal participation are a universal driving force within and across diverse cultural and religious backgrounds and should not be viewed solely as a Western concern. They deplore the fact that the notion of cultural and religious differences has repeatedly been instrumentalised to justify blatant violations of human rights by authoritarian regimes and radical non-state actors.

      Members recall that respect for religious freedoms is an important external policy principle, and that they repudiate the advocacy and dissemination of fundamentalist religious tenets aimed at eroding or violating the rights of particular communities.

      Challenges of religious influence in the international political arena: Members consider that the European Union should be more assertive in its support for the promotion and protection of human rights and social and political rights by civil society. They deplore in passing the fact that, in many non-European countries, even where diverse religious expressions are tolerated, secularism and atheistic or agnostic views are nevertheless often subject to legal or social discrimination and that atheists are facing threats, pressure and danger. They propose therefore that the religious leaders of the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) engage in interreligious dialogue, in a spirit of unity and tolerance.

      Credibility, coherence and consistency of EU policy: Members call on all Member States to repeal any existing laws which contradict the fundamental freedom of religion and conscience and freedom of expression. They reaffirm their support for the inclusion in all EU agreements with third countries, of reciprocal conditionality and political clauses on human rights and democracy, as a common reaffirmation of the mutual commitment to these values with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the suspension mechanism cannot be abused by either side.

      Recommendations to the European External Action Service (EEAS) and to the Commission: Parliament also calls on the EEAS and the EU Delegations worldwide to further engage with third countries and regional organisations in the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. They call on the EU to make culture an even stronger part of political dialogue with partner countries and regions around the world, promoting cultural exchanges and systematically integrating culture into development programmes and projects. They stress, in this connection, the need to streamline the Commission’s internal operations within the various DGs which focus on external relations (foreign policy, enlargement, trade and development), education, culture and the digital agenda. Lastly, Parliament encourages all Heads of EU Delegations to make full use of digital diplomacy tools through their active and consistent presence in the social media.

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