The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the own-initiative report by Alviina ALAMETSÄ (Greens/EFA, FI) on the implementation of civilian CSDP and other EU civilian security assistance.
As a reminder, civilian crisis management has become established as a key pillar of the EU’s CSDP since 1999 in conflict prevention, stabilisation and promotion of sustainable peace. The EU currently maintains 12 civilian missions and, in its 20 years of civilian crisis management, has launched 24 missions on three different continents. Civilian missions are crucial within the EU’s wider response to security challenges through non-military means and require effective training and operational capabilities to keep pace with the evolving threat environment to Europe’s east and south. The deteriorating security environment and humanitarian crisis in and around the European Union has resulted in greater demands on CSDP missions, thereby putting significant strain on the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) budget.
Member States are due to adopt a new Civilian CSDP Compact by May 2023 to continue efforts towards a more effective and capable civilian CSDP missions, taking into account the increasing security challenges at a global level in particular. The changing geopolitical landscape and changing security environment, including conflicts around the European Union and on European soil, as well as Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, disinformation, terrorism and hybrid and malign threats, requires full commitment in order to strengthen civilian CSDP through a new Civilian CSDP Compact.
Enhancing the strategic vision for civilian crisis management
The committee called on Member States to use the new Civilian CSDP Compact to strengthen their strategic vision of civilian crisis management by clarifying the role, effectiveness and added value of civilian CSDP, and by defining a shared level of ambition for civilian crisis management.
Considering the new risks and threats that have emerged, Members suggested updating and enlarging the civilian CSDP tasks. There also stressed the need to integrate and strengthen crosscutting issues, in particular:
- human security;
- gender sensitivity;
- the youth, peace and security agenda, children and armed conflict;
- mediation, dialogue and reconciliation;
- meaningful engagement with civil society;
- the security-climate nexus;
- civil-military interaction, by promoting the rule of law and accountability, including by strengthening the justice chain and capabilities to respond effectively to security challenges;
- the civilian aspects of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration;
- the fight against corruption;
- monitoring and countering disinformation campaigns,
- the protection and preservation of cultural heritage.
Members called on the EU and its Member States to enhance their strategic communication on civilian crisis management, to garner political support within the EU and in countries where missions take place, providing tailor-made strategic communication for each mission.
Paying renewed and focused attention to current missions
While welcoming the revision of the mandate of EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine, Members called for the EU and its Member States to further step up their support to civilian capability development in Ukraine, including fighting corruption, establishing an effective rule of law system and enhancing cyber and hybrid resilience.
Members also welcomed the swift deployment of European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia monitoring the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an important stabilising measure to reduce tensions between the two countries. They encouraged the EEAS to explore possibilities for further cooperation between civilian CSDP missions along similar lines.
In addition, the report expressed appreciation for the achievement of the five civilian CSDP Missions in Africa and called for the continued implementation of their mandates.
Increasing funding to match ambitions
Members regretted the fact that the CFSP budget for civilian CSDP missions has only marginally increased from the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2014-2020 to the MFF 2021-2027 (from a starting point of approximately EUR 350 million per year), while at the same time the number and tasks of missions has increased, the security environment has become more challenging, the cost of operations has increased, inflation has grown and the number of contracted personnel has increased, therefore limiting the potential for expanding the current missions’ mandates or possibly establishing new missions in response to urgent security needs. They also called for the structure of the CFSP budget to be changed and for the generation of one budget line per civilian CSDP mission, to allow for better scrutiny and increased transparency.
Moreover, the report highlighted the need to ensure a more robust and realistic CFSP budget that matches the needs of new and ongoing civilian CSDP missions. It called for a substantive increase of funding for the CFSP budget, while at the same time ensuring the efficient use of the funds allocated to the CSDP civilian missions, in order to make sure that they effectively respond to crisis situations and unforeseen events, and to actively identify where complementary projects and programmes could be funded from other relevant EU budgets, ensuring sound financial management and the careful prioritisation of existing resources.
A call was made for the establishment of a dedicated CFSP budget line within an overall increased CFSP budget, or ‘civilian support facility’, to provide partner countries with the equipment and services to enhance their civilian capabilities.
Lastly, Members underlined the fundamental role of Parliament as a budgetary authority and in the scrutiny of CSDP, including civilian CSDP missions. Parliament should also be more involved in the decision-making process on CSDP civilian missions.