36 Amendments of Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS related to 2020/2257(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to the Council Decision (CFSP) 2020/1639 of 5 November 2020 establishing the general conditions under which third States could exceptionally be invited to participate in individual PESCO projects,
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas democratic systems of governance are increasingly contested; whereas a number of NATO and EU members face internal challenges to democracy; and whereas, globally, there is a rise in authoritarian regimes’ influence and coordination;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the intensified EU- NATO cooperation that has been in place since the signature of the 2016 Joint Declaration, and underscores that the security of EU Member States and their citizens would strongly benefit from a truereinvigorated strategic EU-NATO partnership;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underscores that the EU-NATO partnership and transatlantic cooperation as a whole are built on common support for the core values of democracy, freedom, respect for human rights, the rule of law and the promotion of peace and international cooperation, and stresses that NATO is more than a military alliance and represents a symbol of a shared democratic identity;
Amendment 111 #
4. Underlines that NATO is a valued partner also to EU Member States which are not members of the alliance; recalls that NATO cooperation with non-NATO EU Member States is an integral part of EU- NATO cooperation while respecting the EU’s ambitions in security and defence, and encourages the fullest possible involvement of the non- NATO EU Member States in the alliance’s initiatives;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Expresses nevertheless its concern that Turkey, a NATO member, is moving away from the respect for fundamental values and the rule of law, acted in a confrontational manner with two NATO members in the recent past, France and Greece, and is acquiring Russian military equipment;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights that the transatlantic community is faced with a broad array of unprecedented commonnovel challenges, ranging from the fight against terrorism to hybrid threats, climate change, disinformation, cyber attacks, malicious use of emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs), and a shifting global power balance, as well as the resulting challenge to the international rules-based order; highlights that these challenges create vulnerabilities that enable third party interference and the exploitation of decreased democratic stability;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Commends the key suggestions made by the 2030 NATO independent group of experts, in particular their call for stronger EU- NATO cooperation; endorses the proposals of December 2020 by the Commission President and the VP/HR for an EU-US Security and Defence Dialogue; welcomes the intention of the Biden administration to engage with EU and NATO partners; underlines both the key relevance of the US forces stationed in Europe for Europe’s security and its full commitment to their continued presence;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that the ongoing and future work being carried out in parallel on both the EU’s Strategic Compass and the expected update of NATO’s Strategic Concept represents a unique opportunity to identify additional synergies in order to further EU-NATO cooperation; underlines that both processes mustare expected to come to cohesive conclusions; expresses its vision that the EU Strategic Compass could lay the foundations for an EU contribution to the update of NATO’s Strategic Concept; believes that these processes should separately highlight the added value of each organisation, help define a better division of tasks and, by means of a constant dialogue and close coordination, map out whether the EU or NATO should take the lead in a given field;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes that the upcoming NATO Summit is an important opportunity to advance EU-NATO cooperation; underlines that the EU is a partner of NATO and that EU-NATO cooperation is mutually reinforcing and based on the agreed guiding principles of transparency, reciprocity, inclusiveness, the decision- making autonomy of both organisations and the principle of the single set of forces; reiterates that a European military capability to act is essential to contribute to the fulfilment of NATO’s core tasksalongside and within NATO to the security of the European continent, as well as to enhance deterrence;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Insists European initiatives aim at incentivising Member States engagement in the field of defence, thus contributing to the fulfilment of the Defence Investment Pledge;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. WelcomesTakes note of the requests by the United States, Canada, and Norway to participate in the PESCO project on military mobility; underlines that this marks an important step towards increased coherence between the common EU and NATO capability development efforts, and illustrates the revitalisation of the transatlantic partnershipto address the challenges in military mobility by adopting a whole-of-society perspective, protection of critical infrastructures and by working towards Europe-wide strategic multimodal transport corridors including alignment with Logistic Hubs, and illustrates the revitalisation of the transatlantic partnership; recalls that any third-country participation to a PESCO project must be made in accordance with the relevant rules as listed in the Council decision 2020/1639;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls the importance of close transatlantic cooperation in the areas of arms control, disarmament and non- proliferation; furthermore, sees potential for further transatlantic cooperation on a range of international issues, such as the fight against terrorism, maritime security, pandemic response and in the areas of outer space and the fight against terrorism, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls for an unwavering commitment and coordination between the EU and NATO in sustaining the progress of the past two decades in Afghanistan in light of withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan, which should take place in an orderly, coordinated and deliberate manner, and encourage and support continuation of the Intra-Afghan peace talks with insistence that the process preserves and builds on the political, economic and social achievements of the Afghan people since 2001, particularly protection of women, children and minorities rights;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls for enhanced coordination between the EU, the UN and NATO in Iraq, following the decision taken by Allied defence ministers to increase the size of NATO Mission Iraq in order to expand training activities to include more Iraqi security institutions and areas beyond Baghdad in February2021, and to support EUAM Iraq Mission’s efforts in developing effective, sustainable and accountable civilian security institutions in Iraq, that are in full rise;
Amendment 226 #
12b. Recalls that the North Atlantic Treaty is directly tied to the UN Charter; calls on NATO to demand from its members full compliance with all articles of the UN Charter, whereas the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that freedom of expression is not guaranteed in Turkey;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Expresses its utmost concern regarding the continuous revisionist policies pursued by Russia under President Putin; underscores the need for both NATO and the EU to remain vigilant and to adequately respond to acts of aggression and provocation by Russia, such as, in particular, its illegitimate and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns against NATO, the EU and their member states and partners; regrets President Putin’s evident rejection of dialogue, and considers Russia’s continued aggressive actions as a threat to Euro- Atlanticinternational security and stability;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Expresses its utmost concern regarding the continuous revisionist policies pursued by Russia under President Putin; underscores the need for both NATO and the EU to remain vigilant and to adequaswiftly and unitedly respond to acts of aggression and provocation by Russia, such as, in particular, its illegitimate and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014; regrets President Putin’s evident rejection of dialogue, and considers Russia’s continued aggressive actions as a threat to Euro- Atlantic security and stability;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Deplores in strongest possible terms Russia’s unilateral escalation of tensions on Ukraine’s borders where and in illegally annexed the Autonomous Republic of Crimea it concentrates the largest military build-up in the region since 2014; calls for a coordinated proportional transatlantic action to deter Russia and deescalate tensions, including additional sanctions should Russia continue its provocations against Ukraine and other countries with clearly expressed ambition of pro-European and pro-NATO path;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recognises that the growing influChina has growing ambitions as regards the global scence and military rise of China need to be met with a coordhas become a factor of geopolitical destabilization in many areas, challenging inated transatlantic strategrnational security and stability; expresses its concern regarding the policies pursued by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when it comes to, among other things, the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong, the treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, threats towards Taiwan or aggressive policies and actions in the South China Sea, and hybrid actions such as cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns against the EU and NATO members; further points to the relevance of the fact that China, as a non-democraticn authoritarian regime, has entered into systemic competition with the transatlantic partnershipother major democratic actors by undermining the rules-based international order, and in turn is attempting to reshape it according to the CCP’s own values and interests;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Expresses serious concern that adversaries and competitors of the transatlantic partnership are not only using military but also political and economic tools to undermine our societies and democracies; points to the significant security and economic challenges posed by hybrid threats, cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns, which in some cases constitute an attack against the very nature of our democracies; considers that the EU and NATO should seek to agree on and implement bolder ,coordinated, proportionate responses and adequate deterrence mechanisms to counter such novel threats;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Is deeply concerned about the behaviour of Turkey, one of its allies, regarding the human rights violations committed, the decline in democracy and women’s rights, the unfriendly actions carried out against some EU member states, and its destabilizing actions in Libya, Syria and in the Caucasus, including by spreading disinformation and false narratives against EU's actions;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Emphasises that both the EU and NATO should further strengthen their autonomous own capabilities to prevent, deter and respond to hybrid and cyber attacks, including against their own institutions; suggests the creation of a joint cyber threat information hub, as well as a joint task force for cyber security;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Highlights that the new era of warfare has a strong technological component; highlights that the drivers of today’s innovation in the field of emerging technologies are civilian- oriented start-ups and SMEs; stresses that interoperability, common technological standards, and joint investment in cutting- edge technology, research and innovation are key to maintaining EU and NATO military competitiveness and relevance; further stresses that emerging technologies also offer unprecedented opportunities to strengthen our common deterrence and defence postures;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Calls on the EU and NATO to increase joint efforts for achieving and maintaining global technological ascendency in military capabilities, including through joint funding of research projects based on frontier technologies, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, offering a united alternative, anchored in shared democratic values, to Chinese development of cutting-edge military capabilities;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Calls on the EU and NATO to increase coordination for securing critical digital infrastructure and telecommunications networks against tampering by foreign countries, phasing out equipment that is produced by entities from non-democratic countries such as China;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recognises the unprecedented challenge to global prosperity, security and stability posed by climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’; calls for enhanced EU- NATO dialogue on climate change and its multifaceted consequences for international security; recalls that the EU has a wider range of competences and instruments than a military alliance that allow it to provide a comprehensive response to the challenges posed by the control of foreign investments in strategic sectors, climate change, the COVID pandemic or an external action by combining military missions, civilian missions, governance assistance and rule of law and throughout its Common Security and Defence Policy;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Given the challenging security developments fuelled by Russia on Europe's and NATO's Eastern Flank, including Russia's use of protracted conflicts to maintain and expand its influence in countries that are both EU and NATO partners, such as Ukraine, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova; given Russian attempts to alter the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of these states; and because of those partners' European and, respectively, Euro-Atlantic aspirations, calls on the EU and NATO to leverage and expand current engagements in the Black Sea region and specifically further engage with those partners through a whole-of-society approach in order to ensure a secure and stable Black Sea region, as a premise for the freedom and prosperity of the people, delivering on the promise of a Europe free, whole and at peace;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls for the EU and U.S. to spearhead a pact with other democracies to strengthen multilateral organisations to defend the rules-based multilateral order against rising authoritarian powers. The transatlantic alliance has to be strengthened further in order to lead the struggle for a rules-based international order;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underscores the need to advance defence capability development in order to adequately respond to commonly identified threats; believes that EU Member States, especially the 21 joint EU-NATO members, need to act coherently and should consider identifying a clear ‘European level of ambition’ in quantitative and qualitative terms regarding capability development in NATO, in particular by increasing their investment in research and innovation; encourages stronger efforts by members of both organisations to achieve greater synergies and coordination betweencoherence between NATO’s Defence Planning Process (NDPP) and EU initiatives on capability development, in particular the High-Impact Capability Goals (HICG), the EU’s Capability Development Plan (CDP), and the EU’s Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and NATO’s Defence Planning Process (NDPP); ; calls the 21 common EU-NATO members to declare the same pool of capabilities potentially available in both frameworks for planning purpose in application of the “single set of forces” principle;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underscores the need to advance defence capability development in order to adequately respond to commonly identified threats; believes that EU Member States, especially the 21 joint EU-NATO members, need to act coherently and should consider identifying a clear ‘European level of ambition’, without disregard for the transatlantic partnership, in quantitative and qualitative terms regarding capability development in NATO; encourages stronger efforts by members of both organisations to achieve greater synergies and coordination between the EU’s Capability Development Plan (CDP), the EU’s Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and NATO’s Defence Planning Process (NDPP);
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Stresses that the EU and NATO are also increasingly embroiled in hybrid conflicts with geopolitical adversaries, which contrary to ‘traditional’ warfare, combine military and non-military, as well as covert and non-cover means; Underlines that these acts are of a particularly destabilising and dangerous nature as they blur the lines between war and peace, destabilise democracies and sow doubt in the minds of target populations; Recalls that these attacks are by itself often not serious enough to trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty, but have an cumulative strategic effect and cannot be effectively tackled by retorsions from the injured states; Believes that the EU and NATO should therefore strive to find a solution to fill this legal vacuum, increase the costs of these hybrid attacks and finally, deter adversaries;
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the extension of the New START Treaty; recalls the need to increase cooperation and investment in the key area of air and missile defence; expresses its strong concern about the disappearance of the INF treaty and its wish that a new architecture be found that takes into account Europe's security concerns;
Amendment 406 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls for the EU and its institutions, building on the foundation laid by the ‘integrated approach’, to develop both a common security and defence culture, as well as a strategic approach, throughout its policy-making, which should apply in particular to decisions in the fields of trade, development cooperation, infrastructure, mobility and digital technologies; underlines the key role that the Strategic Compass has in this regard;
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Recalls the importance of effective and clear communication, both in the EU and externally, and calls for closer cooperation between the respective staff of NATO and the EU on strategic communication, especially with regard to countering disinformation; calls in this respect for an improved information- sharing in identifying cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns in order to increase responsiveness; insists however on the fact that both the EU and NATO must keep their respective independent capacities of analysis of hybrid threats and disinformation as the EU is better equipped to identify and track disinformation campaigns and interference coming both from within and outside its member states;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Calls on NATO and the EU to increase joint action on the international stage for protecting democracy, including by acting united and promptly when there is democratic backsliding in member states or when member states engage in bilateral agreements that contradict their membership obligations in NATO and the EU;