EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 590: Konklusionerne fra CFSP/CSDP konferencen i Haag den 7.-8. april 2016

Europaudvalget 2015-16
EUU Alm.del Bilag 590
Offentligt

Inter-parliamentary

conferences

Dutch EU Presidency 2016

Place and date:

Re:

The Hague,

8th April 2016

Final conclusions

Inter-parliamentary Conference CFSP/CSDP, 6-8 April

2016

The Inter-parliamentary Conference,

Having regard to the decision of the Conference of Speakers of European Union

Parliaments taken in April 2012 in Warsaw regarding the establishment and mandate of

this Conference;

Having regard to Title II of Protocol I (and Article 9) of the Treaty of Lisbon regarding the

promotion of effective and regular inter-parliamentary cooperation within the European

Union;

Cognizant of the new powers and instruments foreseen by the Treaty of Lisbon for the

European Union (EU) institutions in the area of the foreign, security and defence policy;

being aware that the new instruments create better opportunities for the EU to wield an

international influence commensurate with its political and economic weight;

Conscious of the multi-layered decision-making process in the areas of the Common

Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP);

aware that effective implementation of these policies must involve numerous policy

actors at both the EU and national levels; conscious of the responsibility to engage in

parliamentary scrutiny at the respective levels and enhance inter-parliamentary

cooperation in the areas of CFSP and CSDP;

Aware that the evolution of the international scenario has strengthened the role of

Parliaments as central actors of global decision making, with specific reference to

conflicts and crises;

Underscoring that the European External Action Service (EEAS), individual Member

States and the European Union Special Representative for human rights should use every

available political and diplomatic opportunity to uphold the respect of human rights as a

priority objective of external relations, in accordance with the 2015-2019 Action Plan on

Human Rights and Democracy of 20 July 2015 and in keeping with the values of respect

for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and the universality

and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as enshrined in the Charter

of the United Nations, international humanitarian law, the Treaty on European Union and

the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Building on the conclusions of the last Inter-parliamentary Conference ('IPC' hereafter),

held in Luxembourg on 5-6 September 2015;

Notes that these conclusions have been adopted by the Inter-parliamentary Conference with the

Danish delegation abstaining.

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 590: Konklusionerne fra CFSP/CSDP konferencen i Haag den 7.-8. april 2016

Strategic review of the EU foreign and security policy

1. Takes note of the state of play regarding the strategic review of the CFSP and

CSDP, to be resulted in the EU’s new Global Strategy on Foreign and Security

Policy by June 2016 (‘Global Strategy’ hereafter); welcomes the contributions of

parliaments following the last IPC in Luxembourg, through which parliaments

take up their role in shaping the Global Strategy; in this regard the IPC

commends the HR/VP for her commitment to involve all contributions and

comments in the strategic review process;

2. Stresses the need to design a common, comprehensive and consistent Global

Strategy that addresses the EU’s challenges and opportunities in a changing

international environment and in the context of the NATO membership of most

EU states; cooperation, commitment and active engagement by all relevant

actors, in particular by the EU Member States is requisite for a Global Strategy

capable of acting in the best interest of the EU and its Member States; by

exploring the effective use of all external action instruments and policies the

strategy should clearly identify challenges to the EU, especially in major areas

such as migration, anti-terrorism and safety against external aggression including

hybrid warfare; the Global Strategy should advance in smooth cooperation with

local and regional partners in line with article 21 TEU resulting in the safety of our

citizens, our societies and our territory; it should advance our interests notably

on rules-based global governance with respect for peace, democratic values and

human rights; believes that the comprehensive approach and the consistent and

coordinated use of the EU’s external and internal policy instruments should be at

the core of the new strategy;

3. States that the core strategic interest of the Union is a peaceful multilateral

global order based on the rule of law, the respect for human rights and

democracy; acknowledges with grave concern that these norms and values have

come under increasing pressure in an increasingly unstable world; is of the

opinion that implementation of the Minsk agreements is the pre-condition for any

substantial change in the EU’s stance towards Russia; supports other principles

guiding the EU’s policy towards Russia as it was agreed by the Foreign Affairs

Council on 14 March 2016; reaffirms the strong common position of non-

recognition of the annexation of Crimea;

4. Looks forward to the presentation of the Global Strategy in June 2016 and wishes

to be kept involved in further discussions, including the follow-up on its

implementation and the White Paper on security and defence emanating from the

Global Strategy; including a framework for the security and defence research of

the EU (as already initiated by a pilot project and an upcoming preparatory

action) in addition to the research programmes of the EU Member States;

5. Reminds that EU enlargement has been a successful process for Europe as a

whole, helping to overcome the divisions of the Cold War, contributing to peace,

stability and prosperity throughout the continent, and providing an impetus to the

neighbouring European countries in continuing their reforms as a prerequisite;

Strengthening EU defence and rapid response

6. Stresses that, in light of the fragile situation on and outside the Eastern and

Southern borders of the EU, and in light of Article 42.3 of the Treaty on European

Union (Member States shall undertake progressively to improve their military

capabilities), a strengthening of the EU's resilience and defence capabilities is

needed; therefore calls on the EU Member States to put into practice the

instruments provided for under the TEU, such as Article 42.6 (Permanent

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 590: Konklusionerne fra CFSP/CSDP konferencen i Haag den 7.-8. april 2016

Structured Cooperation) and Article 44 (on the implementation of a CSDP task by

a group of Member States); underlines the need to strengthen the EU's rapid

reaction capacities, in particular by overcoming the obstacles and by defining

possible solutions to the EU Battlegroups' deployment as initial-entry force, by

reforming the financing system of EU operations towards fairer burden sharing

with a view to establishing a permanent EU military operational headquarter

within the context of the Berlin Plus arrangements, which coordinates its work

more closely with the already existing Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability

(CPCC); and calls on those Member States that are also members of NATO to

spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence, which refers to the agreements

made at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014; supports the

complementary EU-NATO cooperation as the best formula for increasing

synergies in order to achieve fast response and avoiding duplications in the

process of military development, with full respect for the decision making

autonomy of each party and for the possibility of autonomous CSDP action in

such cases where NATO declines to act or where an EU operation is more

appropriate; considers that the establishment of practical arrangements and

guidelines for the future activation of the mutual assistance clause (art. 42.7

TEU) and other provisions regarding CSDP in the Treaty should be a priority;

7. Calls on the European Commission to base the suggested European Defence

Action Plan on the EU White Book on security and defence; regrets that so far the

Commission has as yet involved neither the European Parliament nor the national

parliaments in developing such an additional action plan; calls urgently on the

Commission to clarify the intended legal basis for financing defence research and

financing defence equipment for third countries and third regional organizations;

Strengthening synergy within the EU and with external partners

8. Believes that in order to gain more credibility as a global security and foreign

policy actor, the EU should take greater responsibility and focus on filling the

security vacuum in its neighbourhood; calls on the VP/HR and the EU Member

States to use the Global Strategy as an instrument for clarifying and

strengthening the Union's neighbourhood policy; is convinced that it is in this

respect crucial to recreate a sense of solidarity within the Union and to link in a

much more direct sense its responses to the East and the South; considering the

relationship between external and internal security the IPC emphasizes the need

for the EU to address the threats emanating from the instability in the South and

in the East through an integrated approach connecting all civilian and military,

internal and external security policies and instruments to address both the root

causes and the current negative consequences of the conflict in its

neighbourhood; is convinced that the EU should be more engaged with de-

escalatory diplomacy;

9. Stresses the need to strengthen the forecasting and analytical capacities in EU

institutions and Member States by making EU crisis prevention and management

instruments more efficient and effective; underlines the increasing security

challenges and threats posed by terrorism and stresses the need to improve

cooperation and information sharing between European intelligence services,

national counter-terrorism experts and other authorities; urges all Member States

to comply with their legal obligation to share intelligence with Europol and

Eurojust in the fight against terrorism and organised crime; stresses the need for

measures to be directed towards the prevention of radicalization; is of the opinion

that the EU must be proactive in strengthening cooperation with external

partners in unified international efforts in the fight against terrorism; emphasizes

the real continuum between internal and external security of the European Union

and its Member States; therefore urges the European Parliament to adopt, and

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 590: Konklusionerne fra CFSP/CSDP konferencen i Haag den 7.-8. april 2016

each national parliament to transpose, the Directive on Passenger Name Records

(COM(2011)32 of 2/2/2011) as soon as possible, in order to contribute effectively

to limiting the freedom of movement of terrorists, a primary condition for

improving security, urgently demanded by the citizens of Europe;

10. Encourages, in that context, intensified coordination between the actors and

institutions responsible for the external and internal policies in the EU, increased

cooperation between the EU, NATO and the UN and more civil-military synergy in

relation to maritime, border and cyber security; calls on the EU Member States to

coordinate and speak with one voice on these issues in all relevant multilateral

fora; encourages the EU to further engage with neighbouring countries in security

dialogue and practical cooperation in the field of CSDP; in this context, the EU

should also invest in strengthening further its existing partnerships by using each

Member State’s added value and good relations with particular countries;

stresses that to ensure the EU’s relevance as a global actor and to defend and

promote its own values a strong relationship between diplomacy tools and

capabilities to conduct military operations is needed;

Foreign policy aspects of migration

11. Urges the EU Member States to continue working on the implementation of the

European Agenda on Migration presented by the European Commission, stressing

in particular the need to implement the short and long term priorities in order to

manage migration in a sense of shared responsibility between EU Member States

and non-EU countries of transit and origin of migrants; urges the EU Member

States to continue working to secure the EU's external borders and to prevent

further losses of lives, to dismantle smugglers' networks, including by destroying

their boats and equipment, to deliver on relocation and resettlement and to

implement a common asylum policy based on solidarity and on the arrangements

for a fair burden sharing among the Member States; emphasizes the importance

of communication both inside and outside the EU on the issue of migration;

underlines the importance of cooperation among the EU and the non-EU countries

of origin implementing readmission agreements; welcomes the announced

revision of the Dublin Regulation; calls on the VP/HR to increase her visibility in

addressing foreign policy aspects of migration;

12. Emphasizes the need to address the root causes of migration in the main

countries of origin and transit; takes note of the inter-related issues of migration,

peace-building, respect for human rights and development, stressing the

importance of a global and common approach through regional and bilateral

strategies addressing both economic and technical cooperation, including

assistance to governance and economic development of countries of origin;

welcomes the decision of the EU to strengthen development cooperation with

third countries to address the common challenges and encourages, in this

respect, EU Member States to offer full support to the 2030 Agenda for

Development and to put the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the heart

of the Global Strategy;

13. Underlines that the cessation of the conflict in Syria and the stabilisation of Libya

as well as the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are crucial for

addressing the root causes forcing people to flee and thereby reducing migratory

flows into the EU; stresses that a sustainable solution to the Syrian crisis needs

to be based on an inclusive, Syrian-led political settlement involving all relevant

national and international stakeholders; calls on all sides to maintain the

conditions necessary for the continuation of peace talks, as provided for in the

roadmap adopted by the International Syria Support Group on 14 November

2015 and in conformity with the UN Security Council resolutions 2268 and 2254;

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 590: Konklusionerne fra CFSP/CSDP konferencen i Haag den 7.-8. april 2016

reiterates the importance of getting all regional and international powers behind

the efforts to reach a political agreement, avoiding concessions that might

endanger the very sought objectives and EU values; calls on the EU to use its

leverage with all relevant stakeholders in order to build support for a sustainable

political settlement;

14. In consideration of the strategic nature of the EU's partnership with Egypt for

common security, calls on the Egyptian authorities to ensure full respect of

human rights, in order to actively prevent torture and to cooperate in shedding

light on the case of the Italian researcher who was abducted, tortured and

murdered in Cairo;

15. Recalls that it is crucial to further reinforce the cooperation between the EU and

countries of origin and transit, in order to fight smuggling and trafficking

networks, ensure capacity building in the fields of asylum systems and border

control, provide protection for people in need, focusing on the most vulnerable

groups, establish frameworks for safe and legal migration, to seek collective

solutions and put into force a humane and effective return policy for irregular

migrants in compliance with European and International Law, the Geneva

Convention of 1951 and the protection of human rights; supports the agreement

on an EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan and international law to contain the migratory

flows towards the EU and the assistance to Turkey and other countries in the

region to continue hosting refugees; calls on Turkey to implement its

commitments under the Joint Action Plan and to step up its efforts to prevent

irregular migration into the EU, consistent with the highest standards of

democracy, rule of law, and respect for fundamental freedoms including freedom

of expression; bears in mind that the refugee crisis is not only a European but

also an international challenge, which requires cooperation of the Union with key

international partners such as the United Nations; takes note of NATO’s

surveillance mission in the Aegean Sea; commends the proposal to establish a

European Border and Coast Guard Agency, while highlighting the need to adapt

the concept of the European Border and Coast Guard to the new state of play in

migration management, following the conclusion of the EU-Turkey Joint Action

Plan;

16. Notes with concern that the irregular migration flow from Libya towards Europe

is increasing again and urges EU Member States to engage in a dialogue with the

Libyan Government of National Accord on how to reduce the flow of migrants;

welcomes in this context, the establishment of the new Libyan Government of

National Accord in Tripoli and looks forward to its rapid take-up of duties;

reaffirms the territorial integrity of Libya as a precondition for peace and stability

in the whole country; reaffirms the need to step up efforts to counter Daesh's

expansion in Libya, which represents a primary threat for the security of the

entire European Union; emphasizes the key role of the UN Security Council's

essential decisions to launch EUNAVFOR MED Operation SOPHIA to a full

operational capacity;

17. Welcomes the establishment of the EU Trust Funds and the substantial financial

pledges for humanitarian aid made during the London donors' conference on 4

February 2016; looks forward to the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit in

Istanbul on 23-24 May 2016; and calls upon the EU and Member States to meet

UN development aid targets to help address the migration crisis at source;

Arms exports control

18. Acknowledges the EU Common Position on arms exports (2008/944/CFSP) as the

legally binding common framework for national arms exports decisions; urges the

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 590: Konklusionerne fra CFSP/CSDP konferencen i Haag den 7.-8. april 2016

EU Member States to fully respect the eight criteria of the Common Position;

deplores the fact that EU Annual Arms Exports Reports are published with ever

longer delays and that not all Member States transfer data in line with reporting

obligation of the Common Position;

19. Considers that the EU should promote international cooperation on non-

proliferation and arms control; underlines the need to ensure compliance and

monitoring by Member States of the EU Code of Conduct for Arms Exports so that

regimes that routinely violate human rights are not supplied with additional tools

to suppress dissent;

20. Acknowledging the fact that arms export is related to national security, states

that the IPC advocates more transparency and exchange of information and best

practices between Member States of the EU regarding arms exports control;

endorses the ‘no-undercut principle’, stating that Member States should respect

and adopt each other’s decisions related to arms exports licences, within the

framework of the UN Arms Trade Treaty and the EU common position concerning

arms exports (2008/944/CFSP); takes notes of the Dual-Use Regulation being

subject to change, updating and enlarging the list of goods liable to malevolent

military use; expresses the view that this Regulation is to be implemented in a

strict and uniform manner;

21. Urges the European Commission to focus on the prevention of the proliferation of

cyber-weapons that could be used against the EU's security; stresses the need to

significantly increase the Member States' cyber defence capabilities; considers

that the European Defence Agency may improve the coordination with the

Member States in the cyber defence field;

The role of parliaments

22. Stresses the need - in a time when external and internal security are intertwined

as never before - to further strengthen the cooperation between the European

Parliament and EU national parliaments in the field of CFSP/CSDP and asks the

Troika to come up with concrete and practical proposals for the next IPC in

Slovakia in September 2016 to that purpose.