27 Amendments of Hilde VAUTMANS related to 2017/2123(INI)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to The Bratislava Declaration of 16 September 2016,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the rules-based international order and the values defended by liberal democracies, and the peace, prosperity and freedoms which this order guarantees and which correspond to the foundations on which the European Union is built, are facing unprecedented challenges as societal, economic, technological and geopolitical trends point to the growing vulnerability of the world's population to shocks and stresses, including: interstate conflicts, natural disasters, extreme weather events, water crises, state collapse and cyber-attacks; acknowledges that the defence of the rules-based international order and the values defended by liberal democracies should be of the outmost priority and should be approached without compromise;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores the fact that terrorist and criminal organisations are proliferating and instability is spreading in the South and Middle East, as fragile and disintegrating states throw upgive up on large ungoverned spaces; stresses that in the East Russia’s war against Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea continue; is deeply concerned that hybrid tactics, including cyberterrorism and, information warfare and economic and energy blackmail, are destabilising the Eastern Partnership countries and the wWestern Balkans countries, as well as targeting Western democracies and increasing tensions within them; is concerned that the security environment surrounding the EU will remain highly volatile for years to come; is firmly convinced that EU's vulnerability is direct outcome of the lack of integration as well as lack of coordination;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Is deeply concerned over the increasingly deadly terrorist threat in the Sahelian belt as well as the extension to Central Africa and the instability in the East(Syria, Iraq, Palestine);calls on the EU HR/VP to ensure an executive mandate is granted to the CSDP missions and to intervene in a decisive and determined manner;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes strongly that whenever necessary, the European Union needs to take its destiny into its own hands; stresses that the framing of a common defence policy referred to in Article 42 TEU has the objective of establishing common defence and endowing the Union with strategic autonomy and freedom of action in promoting and defending peace, security and progress in Europe and in the world; emphasises practical and financial benefits of further integrations of European defence capabilities;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Deplores the terrorist threat that is quickly expanding both within Europe and beyond its borders;considers that an incomplete answer on the military level is inevitably leading to ever-growing internal security threats;urgently calls for an European anti-jihadist pact that can tackle these threats in an effective manner;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Believes that European Defence should be built upon the principle that European security cannot be guaranteed by relying merely on military assets, but only by a comprehensive use of civilian, developmental, diplomatic, economic and military instruments available to the Union;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the visible progress made in framing a stronger European defence since the adoption of the EU Global Strategy in June 2016; welcomes in particular the suggestion forlaunching of a European Defence Fund, the proposed scaling-up of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research, and the legislative proposal for a European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP);
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights that the Commission and an increasing number of Member States have committed themselves to launching the European Defence Union; underlines that this corresponds to Parliament’s long- standing demand and to numerous appeals expressed in its previous resolutions; highlights the greater efficiency, elimination of duplication and reduction of costs that will result from stronger European defence integration; stresses however that the launch of a real EDU requires continued political will and determination;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the VP/HR and the Commission to act upon Parliament’s calls for an EU Security and Defence White Book in the context of preparing the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), as requested in Parliament’s resolutions of 23 November 2016, 22 November 2016 and 16 March 2017; considers that building the Defence Union, linking the Union’s strategic orientation with EU contributions to capability development and shaping the European institutional framework for defence are elements that need to be underpinned by an interinstitutional agreement; underlines that through comprehensive and trustworthy work of all stakeholders, it is possible to increase the scope and efficiency of defence spending without the increase of defence spending itself;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Urges Council to take concrete steps towards the harmonisation and standardisation of the European armed forces, in accordance with Article 42(2), in order to facilitate the cooperation of armed forces personnel under the umbrella of a new European Defence Union as a step in progressive framing of a common Union defence policy;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Stresses that the use of all possibilities provided for in the Treaty would improve competitiveness and functioning of the defence industry in the single market, further stimulate defence cooperation through positive incentives, and targeting projects that Member States are not able to undertake, reducing unnecessary duplication, and promoting a more efficient use of public money;is of the opinion that the outputs of these strategic cooperative programmes have great potential to be dual-use technologies and as such bring extra added value to Member States;emphasises on development of European capabilities and an integrated defence market;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Urges the establishment of precise and binding guidelines to provide a well- defined framework for future activation and implementation of Article 42(7) TEU;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9 d. Calls for the formation of the European Intelligence Agency with the mission and capability to implement a de facto transversal intelligence network within the Member States allowing the European Union to react in a comprehensive and coordinated way to emerging threats by adhering to Article 24(3) and Article 4(3) TEU, as the comprehensive gathering of intelligence information cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, either at central level or at regional and local level, but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved at Union level (Article 5(3));
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Notes that through Brexit, the EU is losing 25 percent of its military capabilities and will no longer benefit from the UK's expertise;is concerned that after Brexit, 80 percent of NATO's defence spending will be provided by non- European countries;welcomes in this regard the increased defence spending of different EU member states since 2014;stresses the importance of continued close defence and security relations after Brexit;notes however that Brexit is a renewed momentum to initiatives that have been long blocked, and could open the door to new proposals;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Urges the Parliament to turn its Subcommittee on Security and Defence into a fully-fledged parliamentary committee, enabling it to have a prominent role in the implementation of the common security and defence policy and particularly a role in the scrutiny of legal acts related to the security and defence;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Believes that decision-making on CSDP issues could be more democratic and transparent;calls in this regard for Parliament to gain greater powers of scrutiny and accountability over CSDP;considers in this regard that the sub-committee on Security and Defence (SEDE) should become a fully-fledged parliamentary committee;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10 c. Regrets the lack of cooperation and information-sharing among security and intelligence services in Europe;believes that more cooperation between intelligence services could help counter terrorism;calls in this regard for the establishment of a fully-fledged European intelligence system;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Encourages the Member States participating in PESCO to set up a permanent 'European Integrated Force' composed of divisions of their national armies and to make it available to the Union for the implementation of the common security and defence policy as foreseen by Article 42(3) TEU;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines that the proposed DG Defence should work in liaison with the European Defence Agency (EDA); considers that the EDA should be the implementing agency for Union actions under the European Capabilities and Armaments policy, where this is foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty; renews its call on the Council to ensure that the administrative and operational expenditure of the EDA is funded from the Union budget; notes that EDA's increasing new roles and responsibilities should be followed by an increase of budget;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the establishment of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) process; considers that CARD should aim at bringing the armed forces into line with each other through standardisation and harmonisation, ensuring the Union’s strategic autonomy, and allowing Member States to invest more and better in defence together; welcomes the proposal to launch a trial run in 2017;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Thanks the more than six thousand women and men who have given excellent and loyal service in the Union’s civilian and military missions on three continents; greatly values these missions as Europe’s common contribution to peace and stability in the world and to the security of our citizensdeplores the limitations in the CSDP missions mandate and stresses the need for real effectiveness that can only be achieved with the provision of proper military equipment; urges the Council and the HR/VP to make use of the possibilities provided for in Article 41.2 TEU to this end; welcomes the increase in Member States’ defence spending in support of our service members; takes the view that this trend needs to be sustained, strengthened and coordinated at European level;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Welcomes the recent establishment of a nucleus for a permanent EU operational headquarters (MPCC - Military Planning and Conduct Capability), as demanded by Parliament in its resolution of 12 September 2013, as it is a precondition for effective planning, command and control of common operations; calls on the Member States to staff it with adequate personnel in order to make it work;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Member States to apply full burden-sharing to military CSDP missions by enlargingprogressive enlargement of common funding toward full common funding, which should enable and encourage more Member States to contribute their capabilities and forces or just funds; underlines the importance of reviewing the Athena mechanism in this regard and of substantially broadening the common cost financing;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Urges the Council to act in accordance with Article 41(3) TEU and to adopt without delay the decision of establishing a start-up fund for the urgent financing of the initial phases of military operations for the tasks referred to in Article 42(1) and Article 43 TEU;urges the Council to resolve current problems with financing hybrid missions;calls for more flexibility in the EU's financial rules in order to support its ability to respond to crises and for the implementation of existing Lisbon Treaty provisions;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Believes that the EU-NATO Joint Declaration has the potential to move cooperation to a higher level; welcomes the common set of 42 proposals aimed at strengthening both cooperation and coordination between the two organisations; also welcomes the first joint implementation report by the two organisations published in June 2017; welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the common set of proposals and calls for continued progress;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. CStresses that European security still relies exclusively on NATO; notes in this regard that a stronger EU and stronger NATO are mutually reinforcing; considers that the EU needs to increase its efforts to act as a regional security provider, and to become a strong European pillar of NATO through the European Defence Union; considers that the EU should take greater responsibility in security crises in its neighbourhood, thereby relieving her allies within NATO and allowing them to concentrate on their own neighbourhood; is of the opinion that the security and protection of Europe will increasingly depend on both organisations; calls for improving cooperation, inter alia concerning the exchange of information, expertise and intelligence;