Activities of Anna FOTYGA related to 2020/2002(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on EU-African security cooperation in the Sahel region, West Africa and the Horn of Africa
Amendments (35)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to its report on Peace Support Operations – EU engagementwith the UN and the African Union of 7 June 2016,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the EU Conflict Minerals Regulations 2017/821,
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean in the east, Africa is struggling to contend with challenges, such as historical underdevelopment compounded by the destruction of the traditional agro-pastoral economy as a result of climate change, population growth and deforestation; whereas another major challenge is the emergence of new forms of mafia economy, including human and drug trafficking, cultural and wildlife smuggling and the uncontrolled export of goldmineral deposits, which, combined with the abandonment, inefficiency and corruption of the administration, is producing a hybridisation between terrorist groups, traffickers and traditional community and regional conflicts, with the phenomenon of jihadist religious extremism appearing as a false response for the societies concerned;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas the threat from militant Islamist groups in Africa is not monolithic but comprises activity from a constantly shifting mix of roughly two dozen groups actively operating in 14 countries;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas there were 3,471 reported violent events linked to these groups last year, a 1,105 percent increase since 2009, whereas reported fatalities resulting from African militant Islamist group activity also increased by 7 percent over last year, to an estimated 10,460 deaths;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
D c. whereas terrorist activities are largely concentrated in five main theaters, including Somalia, the Lake Chad Basin, the Sahel—with lesser but persistent threats in North Africa and Mozambique; whereas the Sahel has seen the most rapid increase in violent extremist activity of any region in 2019; whereas each theater faces unique dynamics and requires a unique regional approach;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the European Union has conducted four military common security and defence policy missions and operations to train and advise the Armed Forces of Somalia (EU training mission (EUTM) Somalia – 2010), Mali (EUTM Mali – 2013) and the Central African Republic (EUTM CAR – 2016), one naval military operation (EU naval force operation (NAVFOR) ATALANTA – 2009), and three civilian missions to train and advise the internal security forces of Mali (EU capacity-building mission (EUCAP) Sahel Mali – 2012), Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger – 2014) and Somalia (EUCAP Somalia – 2014), and will soon conduct an advisory mission (EUAM) in the Central African Republic; whereas EU efforts in Africa have been successfully supported by hundreds of military personel from EaP countries, mostly Georgians;
Amendment 92 #
E a. whereas there are a number of military outposts of individual countries such a France, U.S., providing billions of dollars in security assistance to local partners, conducting persistent counter- terrorism operations and missions with much broader mandates, more numerous in terms of numbers deployed, more efficient and with better results and outcomes delivered than CSDP mission; whereas there are 6,000 or more U.S. personnel deployed in Africa which conducts genuine counterterrorist operations which in parallel to political solutions, state building efforts and development initiatives are crucial to defeat terrorist group and stabilize whole regions;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas sustained pressure on terrorists is needed to stop proliferation of this threat to other regions and continents, including Europe;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas over the past decade African security institutions have deployed tens of thousands of personnel in peace operations on African soil, demonstrating a genuine will to contribute to security governance on their own continent;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EU is also supporting the establishment and operationalisation of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, a key counter- terrorism instrument designed to address the ongoing threat of jihadist activity throughout the Sahel;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the continued operationalisation of key regional security actors such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) and the African Union’s African Standby Force overlap with the EU’s interest in assisting struggling countries to provide peace and prosperity for their citizens;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas after years of training, the above-mentioned EU as well as UN missions have been hampered in their sustainability and effectiveness due to restrictions on their mandate, training programmes, and a lack of basic equipment, including weapons, ammunition and vehicles;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas these restrictionshortfalls have allowed third countries, notably Russia, China and Turkey, to fill the void left by the European Union by supplying such equipment, mercenaries and building their own military facilities within several of the most despotic African countries;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas neither the Somali army, nor the Malian army nor the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) have been able to contribute effectively to the fight against jihadists or hold and secure the ground cleared with the aid of friendly international forces, the result being that the local populations feel abandoned and fear being accused of collaborating with the government by the jihadists or the armed groups in the CAR once they return and reoccupy the space from which they were expelled;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas there has been a decisive drop in piracy off the coasts of both Eastern and Western Africa as a result of international maritime security efforts from both the EU and NATO that serve as a precedent for European, African and transatlantic security cooperation;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas after years of involvement in the above-mentioned civil and military missions, the general situation has become worse and worsfailed to improve and a new and comprehensive strategy therefore needs to be implemented that ultimately transfers the responsibility of security into the hands of Africans;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas Russia has sent hundreds of instructors to train and arm FACA soldiers and has deployed on African continent mercenaries accused of potential war crimes in Syria and Ukraine; whereas intentions of such moves are to support dictatorship regimes, secure control over extraction of mineral resources and gain political support on the level of international organizations;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the European Development Fund, European Peace Facility (EPF) and the African Peace Facility (APF) provide support to the African Union, financing, among other things, the operational cost of military peacekeeping operations in Africa;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the European Union must coordinateion of the development and security initiatives in which it is involved as part ofof the EU, involved Member States, like-minded partner countries such as the U.S, UK and Canada as well as organizations such as the AU and NATO needs an integrated strategy;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. In this regard welcomes the new communication “Towards a comprehensive Strategy with Africa’ and expects that security cooperation will be an important part of the upcoming EU- Africa Summit. Is of the opinion that the overly militarized approach to fighting terrorism in Africa is not working in the long term and a future EU-Africa strategy should tackle this problem in a comprehensive way;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the European Union’s development and security missions and programmes should be coordinated by the VP/HR under the authority of the Council in accordance with Article 43(2) of the TEU and that a centralised doctrine centre should be established coveringdoctrine that integrates the Military Planning and Conduct Capability and the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability training missions, and projects supporting or reforming the security sector is needed. All these efforts to ensure coordination should be introduced under the authority of the Council and in close and constant contact with the Political and Security Committee;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the revisionew of Article 3a(4)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) No 230/2014 in the light of the grave and profound degradation in the security conditions in the region and in order to fill any gaps in EU missions and projects with a view to supporting the capacity-building of partners in the security sector, including through funding for military spending and the provision of weapons, ammunition or lethal equipment, transport and training essential for improving the combat capability of African armed forces fighting against jihadism; supports the Joint Communication of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 28 April 2015 entitled ‘Capacity building in support of security and development – Enabling partners to prevent and manage crises’4 ; _________________ 4 JOIN(2015)0017. 4
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. CallIs onf the VP/HR to propose a Council decision on the establishment of a specific service to oversee the supply and use of such equipment and training; calls for funding from the EU budget to be provided for the administrative expenditure arising from that Council decision, including for personnel; calls on the Council to charge the Member States for the expenditure arising from the supply and use of such equipment and training; calls on the Member States that do not participate in funding the supply and use of such material to abstain from the vote in the Councilopinion that the supply and use of such equipment and training should be monitored by Member States, scrutinized by the EP and audited by the ECA;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point b
Paragraph 5 – point b
b) to adapt the APF and the EPF in order to overcome the current limitations on the acquisition of arms and munitions;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point b a (new)
Paragraph 5 – point b a (new)
b a) to coordinate such support with like-minded countries and organizations involved and representing the same strategic goals;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recommends that the EU considers contributing to the operational and logistical costs of theSupports operations against jihadist terrorism conducted by the national armed forces of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, within the framework of peacekeeping operations in the Sahel- Saharan area and by taking a similar approach, as well as other reliable partner countries conducting counterrorism activities, in particular Morocco, and calls for establishing similar framework of cooperation to the one it takes to financing the G5 Joint Forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISON);
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Agrees to apply toRecommends to consider whether existing training programmes may apply to the same facilities for the procurement of military equipment, including weapons, as those currently provided for the deployment and training of the G5 Sahel force, including financial support if needed;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – point a
Paragraph 10 – point a
a) harmonising training methods and rules of procedure and engagement and ensuringe they are uniqueffective;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that the Government of Somalia is unable to perform its duties and that the Somali army is also unable to counter al-Shabab’s terrorist activities and is not yet ready to take over from AMISOM; recalls that the Somali army was supposed to take over from AMISOM in December 2021; underlines that the achievement of that objective requires a new and comprehensive assistance programme; calls for a closer cooperation with U.S. Special Operations Forces in common effort to train an elite Somali army unit capable of defeating al Qaeda- linked militants on the ground;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls for the EU to address the consistent and growing threats to the protection and preservation of cultural heritage and clamp down on the smuggling of cultural artefacts, especially in conflict zones; notes that depriving societies of their cultural heritage and historical roots makes them more vulnerable to radicalisation and more susceptible to global jihadist ideologies; calls for the EU to develop a broad strategy to counteract such threats;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Commends the various initiatives taken by Morocco to enhance security and stability in North and West Africa, including its dismantling of terror cells, joining NATO’s Interoperability Platform, enhancement of special forces training with Egypt,Tunisia and Mauritania, financial support for G5 Sahel, the preservation of the cultural identity of locals, openinig its universities and training centers, including in the military field, to G5 countries as well as a wide set of countering extremism initiatives as training Imams from neighbouring countries to counter extremist propaganda and signing economic partnership conventions with at risk countries such as Mali, Coite de Voire, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Encourages the Member States to support and cooperate with the Barkhane and Takuba operations; Encourages Member States to support NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian, US AFRICOM and the ongoing US and French led counter-terrorism and counter-trafficking operations taking place in the continent which are critical in combatting the ever-increasing number of violent extremist groups throughout the continent;
Amendment 367 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Regrets that the African continent remains home to a variety of active terrorist organizations that openly and continuously threaten African and European citizens and interests alike, including, but notlimited to: ISIS, al- Qaeda, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al-Shabaab and Boko Haram; Calls for the EU to pay particular attention to the spread of jihadism in areas such as the Indian Ocean and West Africa and to lend cooperation and establish aid programmes when required;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Cautions against China and Russia’s continuous efforts to support military dictatorships, sell or donate non- interoperable military hardware, uses mercenaries accused of war crimes in Ukraine and Syria and undermine regional security efforts; is oft he opinion that Europe cannot risk becoming reactive to Sino-Africa dynamics and Russian engagement in fragile states and expanding military influences across the continent;