36 Amendments of Sir Graham WATSON related to 2011/2177(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas a majority of the citizens of EU Member States are in favour of maintaining the current levels of defence spending;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes with grave concern the unprecedentedthe culmination of a trend in recent years of cuts in the defence budgets of the majority of EU Member States in the wake of the financial crisis and the potential negative impact of these measures on their military capabilities in the absence of a coordinated effort at EU level to address the impact of the crisis on the EU defence sector; underlines that defence constitutes a public good that affects the security of all European citizens and that it benefits all Member States need to contribute in a spirit of burden-sharingto turn from the old style of individual defence decisions, including cuts, and work to integrate their defence policies;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Considers that the economic and financial crisis can be used as an opportunity for the integration of EU defence policies, as it can provide the impetus for finally creating and implementing ambitious reforms long in the making;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. WarnNotes that uncoordinated budget cuts threaten to result in the complete loss of certain military capabilities in Europe, at a time when the intervention in Libya clearly demonstrated that European countries are already lacking a number of capabilities vital to mounting an operation of that kind and could hardly do so without US support; considers that the push for a re- orientation of European strategic capabilities should be renewed, in order to safeguard and improve those sectors which are most important, while realistically acknowledging that not all capabilities could or should be targets for joint EU defence;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes with concern that recent budget cuts are in addition to a pattern of Member States under-investing and under-spending in the fields of security and defence for over a decade;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the existing disproportionate reliance on the United States in defence matters, as symbolised by the fact that the US share of all defence spending in the North Atlantic Alliance has risen to 75 %, can no longer be acceptable either for Europe or for the US; considers, however, that as the financial crisis makes increased defence spending unlikely, a new approach on financial responsibility within NATO should be considered, and greater focus should be given to those areas where European contributions can be significant;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Urges all Member States to meet their agreed obligations as members of the NATO Alliance to spend 2% of their GDP on military capabilities (a target currently only met by France and the UK);
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges all EU Member States to assume fully their part of the responsibility for peace and security in Europe, its neighbourhood and the wider world; reminds them of their repeated commitments, including in the Treaty and European Council conclusions, to improve their military capabilities, as well as their soft-power assets, such as civilian capabilities and technical assistance instruments which can sometimes have a greater effect and be more cost effective;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores the way in which most of these funds are spent, based on national defence planning decisions taken in almost total isolation, often using outdated models based on force creation rather than capacity building, resulting not only in persistent capability gaps, but also in wasteful overcapacities and duplications, as well as fragmented industry and markets;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores the way in which most of these funds are spent, based on national defence planning decisions taken in almost total isolation, resulting not only in persistent capability gaps, but also in wasteful overcapacities and duplications, as well as fragmented industry and markets which results in the EU not having either the visibility, resources or reach of 200 billion Euros worth of spending;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Considers that a major focus of all EU efforts on defence in reaction to the financial crisis should be the European Defence Agency (EDA), which has the potential to cover a wide area of policy overhauls and planning, yet is unable to do so in its current format; calls for an upgrade on the format of the EDA, considering that an increase in its budget, personnel, areas of responsibility and overall powers would be cost-effective in the long run, enabling it to work better on the optimisation of the EU defence sector, with a dedicated task to avoid costly duplications and financially unsustainable defence policies;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that the point of such coordinated reviews would be to end the culture of isolation in national defence planning and military command, unsustainable in conditions of crisis and limited individual financial resources, and to establish a platform for structured discussion, allowing the Member States to consider the bigger picture before they take key strategic decisions on their defence capabilities;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls again for an EU White Paper on security and defence to update the European Security Strategy, defineing the EU's security and defence objectives, interests and needs more clearly in relation to the means and resources available; emphasises that it should be drafted and regularly updated on the basis of the national reviews, while at the same time providing a reference for them, linking national defence planning with a common security outlook and threat assessment;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses that such a White Paper, by setting out a common vision of challenges and solutions will build trust and provide focused strategic guidance on the form that EU forces should take;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is firmly convinced that given the financial crisis, having the political will for the pooling and sharing of capabilities is not an option any more, but a necessity; supports the Member States in their efforts to identify the most promising projects, as part of the process initiated at the September 2010 ministerial meeting in Ghent and in line with the November 2010 German-Swedish initiative; recalls the mandate given to the EDA in May 2011 for submitting proposals in the autumn;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that, in particular in areas such as strategic transportation, logistical support, maintenance, space capabilities, medical support, interoperability and civ- mil integration, education and training, as well as certain niche capabilities, Member States can greatly profit from pooling or sharing of some functions and assets without creating significant dependencies that would limit their sovereign decision- making; strongly encourages initiatives addressing capability gaps in areas such as air-to-air refuelling, maritime surveillance, UAVs, CBRN protection, countering IEDs, satellite communication, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors and platforms, and combat and information systems;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Stresses that pooling resources must go hand in hand with enhanced specialisation where Member States giving up certain capabilities can be confident that others will provide them and recognises that this will require serious political commitment by national governments;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Second, on the ‘pooling of assets owned nationally’, views the European Air Transport Command (EATC) initiative of four Member States as a particularly useful example, where the use of existing capabilities is optimised by the transfer of some competencies to a common structure, while maintaining fully national ownership of assets; considers this model of pooled, but separable, capabilities to be well adapted also to other areas of operational support, such as transport helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft and military sealift assets; believes that any delegation of competences to an integrated structure needs to be flexible and should not require all participants to delegate the same set of competences, to avoid the risk of settling for the lowest common denominator; considers it desirable, however, that Member States provide national capabilities in the full range of the tasks of EATC; notes the potential for pooling of cyberdefence assets, given the integration of European cybersystems, and the need to address the need for more EU coordination in this area;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Third, with respect to the ‘pooling of procurement’, such as in the A400M programme, highlights the potential benefits of joint procurement in terms of economies of scale, building a viable industrial base, interoperability, and subsequent possibilities of pooling and sharing in in-service support, maintenance and training; deplores the fact that these benefits are often lost due to differences in requirements and work-share agreements as in the case of the Eurofighter programme; in order to realise fully the potential savings, stresses the importance of maintaining a common configuration of jointly procured equipment through its entire life cycle in order to facilitate joint in-service support; invites the Member States also to consider the pooling of outsourced services;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recalls the important role of the EDA, as defined by the Treaty, in proposing multilateral projects, coordinating Member States' programmes and managing R&T cooperation programmes; highlights the EDA-run projects that are already operational, such as the Helicopter Training Programme and the deployable forensic laboratory to counter IEDs and its application in Afghanistan, and calls for more progress on other initiatives such as the European Air Transport Fleet (EATF); urges the Member States to use the potential the Agency offers in terms of administrative and legal support and to entrust it with the management of their cooperation initiatives and underlines the need for the EDA to be given the means to deal with an increase of its responsibilities;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers that an EU Operational Headquarters, for which it has repeatedly called, would not only substantially enhance the EU's capacity to support international peace and security, but would in the long run also generate savings for the national budgets in the logic of pooling and sharing, enabling all five Member States currently hosting headquarters to significantly reduce costs; calls on the Vice-President / High Representative to continue work based on the ‘Weimar initiative’ and to investigate legal options for the establishment of permanent EU military planning and conduct capability of this kind; considers it necessary to adopt an adequate and balanced rotation scheme for the European command;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Stresses that security research needs to be maintained as an independent theme in the next Framework Programme and calls for a substantial increase in the funds allocated to it, following a re-evaluation of other areas which are less long-term relevant; calls for an expansion of the scope of the ‘Security’ theme to support the full range of dual-use technologies; maintains that, while taking due account of any relevant defence-related requirements in the programmes and projects, the theme should keep its civilian focus;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Points out that, just as the results of civilian research often have defence applications, the spin-offs from defence research frequently benefit the whole of society; recalls in particular the examples of the internet and GPS; given the above, takes the view that, in addition tounder the ‘Security’ theme, the establishment of a new ‘Defence’ sub-theme in the Framework Programme should be envisaged, in order to stimulate European collaborative research and help bring together dispersed national funds;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Stresses, however, that no resources must be transferred from civilian research and that the new sub-theme must be funded entirely from additional resources allocated to the Framework Programme; recommends that the sub-theme be managed by the Commission and the EDA; notes that any EU-funded defence research activity should first of all follow the objective of the development of EU crisis management capabilities and focus on research with dual applications;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Recognises that the likely consequence of restructuring will be the abandonment or preferably the restructuring and re- orientation of some non-viable national industrial capacities, which may lead to employment concerns; calls for a better use of EU funding, such as the European Social Fund and European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, to support anticipation and adaptation to change;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Encourages the EDA to further develop a common European view on key industrial capabilities that have to be preserved or developed in Europe; as part of this effort, invites the Agency to analyse dependencies on non-European technologies and sources of supply and make concrete recommendations for Member States, in line with the work of the European Commission which also has certain programmes aimed at reducing European supply dependency and energy dependency;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Supports the EDA's calls for harmonised defence requirements, combined R&D investment, the promotion of effective cooperative armaments programmes and increased market competition in defence procurement;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Recalls that, in order to increase the competitiveness of the European defence industry, as well as to make sure that the interests of the taxpayer are adequately safeguarded, Member States urgently need to improve the transparency and openness of their defence markets; recalls that the deadline for the transposition of Directive 2009/81/EC on defence and sensitive security procurement expired on 21 August 2011; calls on the Commission to report in due time on the transposition measures taken by the Member States, and to take all necessary action to ensure correct implementation; points out however that given the negative effects of the crisis on national defence industries, steps should be taken to adapt the Directive to the current situation, including temporary exceptional measures aimed at promoting inter-European industry offset cooperation and allow for short-term deals that can have a positive stimulus effect;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Stresses that the directive is tailor-made to the specificities of defence and security procurement contracts, and but that it fails to encompass all the particularities of the Member States in a balanced manner, creating major problems and delays in their various strategies for its implementation and therefore that, consequently, any exemption of contracts from EU law on the basis of Article 346 TFEU can be deemed legal only in exceptional and duly substantiated cases, such as the very damaging effect of the financial crisis on the national defence sectors; calls on the Commission to ensure that the directive, as well as the derogation under Article 346 TFEU, are correctly applied; applied by all Member States in an adequate manner given the struggles of a crisis-affected market and industry;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44a. Points out that given the significant differences between the status of Member States' ability to fully integrate the Directive in their respective legal systems and practices, and the damaging impact it can have on an industry already in crisis, the Council should re-examine its deadline, as well as consider a short term expansion of the use of Article 346 TFEU for such exceptional circumstances, as inter-Union offset contracts can lead to the creation of jobs and the re-start of national industries;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Recalls that the regime established by the EDA's Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement and the Code of Best Practice in the Supply Chain is only applicable to contracts covered by the derogation under Article 346 TFEU; invites the EDA and the Commission to reassess the relevance of this regime following the entry into force of the Directive on defence procurement and the fact that not all Member States are a party to it, nor fully able to implement it;;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Calls on the Council and Commission, together with the EDA, to examine the possibility of creating an European Defence Anti-Corruption Action Plan, that can be expanded to other major policy areas as well;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Calls on the EDA and the Member States to make the EDA Code of Conduct on Offsets more ambitiousrealistic and clear and to work towards the phasing-out of offsetsadaptation of offsets to the current crisis situation while taking into account the need for long-term competitivity; notes, however, that offset practices may in certain cases help domestic industries become more efficient and contribute to the development of the European defence industrial base; asks the EDA and the Commission to work together in order to foster the integration of smaller Member States' industries into the European defence technological and industrial base by other means than offsets;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Takes the view that EU funds should be used to foster cooperation in education and training; calls for the necessary arrangements to be made to allow the payment of stipends to cadets and civilians involved in security and defence participating in the ‘military Erasmus’ programme from the EU budget, in order to give them equal treatment with students at civilian higher education institutions;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58 a (new)
Paragraph 58 a (new)
58a. Notes the limitation of the European Security and Defence college in the recipients of its formation courses, open only to seconded Member States' officials; calls for the opening of a branch of the College for the wider, post-graduate public, in order to increase the number of European experts formed by it and available for recruitment for Union level missions and programmes;