23 Amendments of Ana GOMES related to 2012/2138(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas significant changes are taking place in the geostrategic context in which the CFSP and CSDP operate, owing in particular to the upheavals in the Middle East and Northern Africa (revolutions, conflicts and regime change in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria ... ), the emergence on the international scene of new players with regional or even global ambitions and the reorientation of US defence policy priorities towards the Asia- Pacific area;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, at the same time, threats to global security are growing because of uncertainties linked to the attitudes of States engaged in programmes which dangerously encourage nuclearWMD proliferation, namely nuclear, the escalation of local crises in the EU's neighbourhood with major regional implications, such as the current Syrian conflict, the vagaries of the transition process in the Arab countries and its security dimension (Libya, Sinai ...), the evolution of the Afghan-Pakistan area in view of the prospect of the withdrawal of NATO troops and increased terrorist threats in Africa, in particular in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Nigeria,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European Union has a duty to respondmust respond to these threats and challenges by speaking with one voice and acting in a spirit of solidarity between Member States,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the CSDP has the potential to contribute to peace and, stability and human security in the world through its missions and operations that form part of the EU's comprehensive approach to a country or region, including through multilateral cooperation in international organizations - in particular the United Nations - and regional organizations, in compliance with the UN Charter,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that the EU should be a global political player on the international scene in order to promote international peace and human security, to protect its interests in the world and to ensure the security of its citizens; believes that the European Union shouldmust be able to assume its responsibilities when confronted with international threats, crises and conflicts, especially in its neighbourhood;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasizes in this regard 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; emphasizes that this strategic autonomy will remain illusory without credible military capabilities; 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, as stressed in Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned about the prospect of strategic decline facing the EU, not only through the downward trend in defence budgets, but also because of the relative and progressive marginalisation of its crisis management instruments, in particular the military ones; believes that the Union must seek to not delegate its security and that of its neighbourhood to others;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, despite the continuing validity of its assertions and analyses, the European Security Strategy, which was drawn up in 2003 and finalised in 2008, is beginning to look outdated, since a strategic vision formed in 2003 is no longer sufficient to understand today's world; calls therefore on the High Representative / Vice-President of the Commission and the Council rapidly to present a White Paper on the Security and Defence of the EU, which precisely defines the EU's strategic interests and takes account of changing threats and the development of relations with our allies and partners, but also with emerging countries; stresses the importance of such a strategic framework to guide the external action of the Union European, channel the foreign policies of Member States towards common goals and also guide the medium and long-term strategic planning of the civilian and military capabilities to be developed and acquired within the context of the CSDP; invites the HR/VP to build on the outcome of a future White Paper to launch the review of the 2008 European Security Strategy;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Emphasizes that the strength of the European Union compared to other organizations lies in its capacity to mobilise a whole range of political, economic and humanitarian instruments to support its civilian and military crisis management operations and that this comprehensive approach gives it a unique and widely appreciated flexibility and efficiency which the EU should effectively capitalise;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Regrets, however, that with the exception of EUTM Somalia, no new military operations have been launched since 2008, even though a number of crises could have warranted EU intervention, including in Libya and Mali, Mali and Guinea- Bissau; encourages, in this context, the intensification of ongoing planning for possible military operations; regrets and points out the vulnerability for future action in West Africa resulting from ECOWAS active sponsorship of a coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau and the EU’s abstention to criticise such a relevant security partner in the region;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Note that currently three operations (EUNAVFOR Atalanta, EUTM Somalia and EUCAP Nestor) are deployed for the benefit of the region and stresses the need to continue the coordination of the EU's intervention with efforts by the international community, first and foremost the African Union, to ensure that Somalia once again has a functioning State and resumes progress towards sustainable development, as the only feasible way out of the human insecurity and poverty cycle;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Pays tribute to the vital contribution made by the EUNAVFOR Atalanta operation in combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean and approves the extension of its mandate until December 2014; approves alsotakes note of the extension of the scope of this mission to include Somalia's coastal zone and territorial and inland waters; calls on Member States to provide adequate air and sea resources for this operation and encourages commercial vessels to continue to apply best navigational practices so as to reduce the risk of attack; welcomes the contribution by the Netherlands to operation Atalanta in the form of an on- board protection team intended to ensure the safety of humanitarian convoys and encourages other Member States to make this type of contribution;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Declares that piracy is akin to organized crime and that it is important, for the sake of freedom of trade and the protection of an essential maritime passage, to disrupt the economic profitability of this activity; calls on the Commission and the Council to take all necessary measures to ensure the traceability of the financial flows generated by this activity and facilitate exchanges of information between EUNAVFOR Atalanta and Europol ; stresses that piracy and terrorism are a consequence of the extreme poverty and underdevelopment in which Somalia and the region is entangled and that the problem of piracy and the whole range of problems it generates will not be solved unless a comprehensive approach, that addresses the root causes of poverty, lack of development, human security, governance and democracy and democratic structures, is set up for the region and put to function in a holistic, multilateral and multifaceted manner;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Calls for planning to continue for an operation to support, possibly in conjunction with ECOWAS, the restructuring of the Malian armed forces in order to improve the effectiveness of its security forces and enable the country to regain control over its territory;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Believes that the Libyan crisis could have been the appropriate opportunity for the EU to demonstrate its ability to act, including militarily if necessary, in full compliance with UN Security Council resolutions, when faced with a major crisis in its back yard which directly affects the stability of its environment; regrets that the lack of common political will among Member States and an ideological reluctance to see the Union deploy its own military capabilities have relegated the Union to playing a secondary role ;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Believes that the EU has an important role to play in the process of institutional transition in Libya, in particular infuture of Libya and that it should do its utmost to position the Union as the main counterpart of a democratic Libya; takes the view that the EU has the responsibility of supporting the process of democratic transition in Libya, answering the requests of the Libyan authorities, namely in (1) providing support to the constitutional process, (2) the overall democratic capacity building, (3) the demobilisation and social integration of members of revolutionary brigades, (4) in the reorganisation of the Libyan armed forces and (5) assistance in controlling land and sea borders; regrets that the EU contribution in the security sector is slow to materialise, and that difficulties in planning and implementing this contribution are leaving the field open to bilateral initiatives, of doubtful visibility and consistency, namely by uncoordinated EU Member States; supports the acceleration of planning for a civilian mission to assist border controls; strongly recommends that EU diplomatic presence be reinstated in Benghazi;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Notes thate important work carried out by the EUJUST LEX-Iraq mission, whose mandate has been extended until 31 December 2013, is the first EU integrated ‘'rule of law’' mission aimed at contributing to the establishment of a professional criminal justice system in Iraq based on the rule of law; notes, however, that Iraq is stistresses the urgency of enlarging the EU Delegation action in Iraq throughout the country, which requires autonomy in its own premises in Baghdad and calls far from beingor adequate financial resources to ensure both; notes, however, that Iraq is not yet fully stabilised, as evidenced by the regular terrorist attacks in the country, a situation aggravated by a highly uncertain regional context, which the Syrian crisis may further exacerbate;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Syria Regrets that the UNSC has been obstructed by two permanent members China and Russia from enabling the international community to exercise the Responsibility to Protect the people of Syria, under attack by the murderous regime of Assad, and calls on the HR/VP to start planning a coordinated action, including a possible CSDP mission, in articulation with the UN, Arab League and other regional actors to protect the people of Syria, while building state institutions in a transition to democracy in the post-Assad phase;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Notes that EU civilian and 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; calls therefore on Member States to remain mobilised to provide quality personnel and equipment and to build on the expertise of the European Defence Agency to guide Member States on how better to plan their defence spending, procurement processes and guide them towards a smarter pooling and sharing resources and capabilities approach, what is particularly crucial in times of financial crisis and devastating defence budget cuts;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65
Paragraph 65
65. Call on Member States fully to implement the Defence Procurement Directive in order to combat market fragmentation, which often benefits third countries, and which opens the door to corruption, squandering of national defence budgets, superfluous equipment and clear violations of Competition and Internal Market rules;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83
Paragraph 83
83. RegretsNotes that the development of civilian crisis management structures in NATO, given that this represents an unnecessary duplication of capabilities already present and well developed in the European Union; asks the HR/VP to bring that to the attention of Members States;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 84
Paragraph 84
84. Welcomes the cooperation between the European Union and the African Union to maintain peace and stability on the Continent of Africa; notes that the European Union is contributing to the establishment of a blueprint for peace and security in Africa, and, to this end, supports the peace efforts of the African Union and African regional organizations such as ECOWAS, to combat instability, insecurity and the threat of terrorism from the Horn of Africa to the Sahel;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 a (new)
Paragraph 86 a (new)
86a. Calls on the HR/VP and the Council to immediately start discussing a line of action to promote the urgently needed reform and enlargement of the UNSC, with a view to ensure EU’s representation at the UNSC and strengthen the representativity and legitimacy of the UNSC; that reform should include restricting the use of the veto power, taking lessons from the current impasse on Syria, where the UNSC is being obstructed from enabling R2P to be exercised by the international community;