The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the own initiative report by Arnaud DANJEAN (EPP, FR) on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (based on the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the Common Foreign and Security Policy).
A new strategic framework: the parliamentary committee stresses that the EU should be a global political player on the international scene in order to promote international peace and security and that it should be able to assume its responsibilities when confronted with international threats, crises and conflicts, especially in its neighbourhood. It emphasises, in this connection, the need for the EU to assert its strategic autonomy through a strong and effective foreign, security and defence policy enabling it to act alone, if necessary. It recalls that this strategic autonomy is being built with due respect for existing alliances, notably with regard to NATO, while maintaining a strong transatlantic link and duly observing and reinforcing genuine multilateralism as a guiding principle of EU international crisis management operations.
Concerned about the prospect of the strategic decline facing the EU, Members point out that the European Security Strategy, which was drawn up in 2003 and reviewed in 2008, is beginning to be overtaken by events and is no longer sufficient to understand today’s world. They therefore call, once more, on the European Council to commission from the Vice-President/High Representative (VP/HR) a White Paper on the security and defence of the EU, which will define the EU’s strategic interests. The White Paper should be based both on the concepts introduced by the 2003 and 2008 European Security Strategies and on the new security concepts that have emerged in recent years, such as the ‘responsibility to protect’, human security and effective multilateralism.
Members recall that the Lisbon Treaty introduced a number of significant innovations in relation to the CSDP that have yet to be implemented. They consider regrettable, in this connection, the neglect by the VP/HR of past parliamentary resolutions calling for more active and coherent advances in the implementation of the new instruments introduced under the Lisbon Treaty. They urge the VP/HR to provide the necessary impetus to develop the potential of the Lisbon Treaty so that the EU enjoys the full range of possibilities for action on the international scene within the framework of its comprehensive approach.
Civilian and military operations: the report emphasises that so far the CSDP has contributed to crisis management, peacekeeping and the strengthening of international security. It insists that the CSDP now needs to be able to intervene in all types of crisis, including in the context of high-intensity conflicts in its own neighbourhood, and to be ambitious enough to have a real impact on the ground.
The committee responsible notes that 14 operations are currently under way, 11 of which are civilian and 3 military. It welcomes the launch of three new civilian operations in the summer of 2012, in the Horn of Africa (EUCAP Nestor), Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger) and South Sudan (EUAVSEC South Sudan), and the planning of a civilian mission to support border controls in Libya. It considers that these missions are a first sign that the CSDP’s agenda is being revitalised and underlines the importance of improving the framework for learning lessons from missions and operations.
Members consider it regrettable, however, that the EU does not take full advantage of CSDP military tools, even though a number of crises might have warranted a CSDP intervention, including those in Libya and Mali. They stress the need to consider providing assistance in the field of security sector reform to the Arab Spring countries, especially those in North Africa and the Sahel region. They encourage, in this context, the intensification of ongoing planning for possible military operations and, at the same time, calls for a re-evaluation of ongoing missions.
Capabilities and structures for conducting operations: the report notes that EU military operations still suffer all too often from problems of force generation, and that the credibility of the CSDP is at stake in the absence of credible capabilities. It calls, therefore, on the Member States to remain mobilised to provide quality personnel and equipment.
It notes, furthermore, that the crisis management structures within the EEAS remain under-staffed, on both the civilian and the military sides, which affects their ability to respond and contributes to a degree of marginalisation of the CSDP. It calls on the VP/HR to address this situation as soon as possible.
Among other recommendations, the parliamentary committee:
The report reiterates its call for the creation of an EU Operational Headquarters (OHQ) for operational planning and the conduct of civilian missions and military operations within the EEAS, if necessary through permanent structured cooperation.