A4-0047/99

European Parliament recommendation on the establishment of a European Civil Peace Corps

The European Parliament

- having regard to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council by Mr Spencer and 38 other Members on the establishment of a European Civil Peace Corps (B4-0791/98),

- having regard to Article J7 of the Treaty on European Union,

- having regard to Rule 46(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy (A4-0047/99),

A. whereas the end of the 'cold war' has been characterised, both in and out of Europe, by an increasing number of intra and inter-state conflicts with growing international, political, economic, ecological and military implications,

B. pointing out that the manifold character of these conflicts makes them often difficult to understand and to handle because of the lack of appropriate concepts, structures, methods and instruments,

C. considering that the military response to international conflicts often has to be combined with political efforts to reconcile belligerent parties, to put a genuine end to violent conflicts and recreate conditions of mutual confidence,

D. believing that the potential role of civilians in situations of conflict has still to be fully evaluated,

E. pointing out that the European Parliament has adopted several resolutions concerning the eventual establishment of a European Civil Peace Corps (ECPC),

F. underlining that such initiative should be seen as a further instrument of the European Union to enhance its external action in the field of conflict prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts,

G. whereas in no way should the ECPC be intended as an alternative to ordinary peace-keeping missions or give rise to overlapping with organisations already working in the field in question, such as the OSCE and UNHCR, but should tend to complement, when necessary, conflict-prevention actions of a military nature in cooperation with the OSCE and the UN,

H. emphasising that the prospect of future enlargement of the Union makes the necessity and urgency to reform and strengthen the existing common foreign and security policy even more insistent,

I. underlining that in the case of the war in former Yugoslavia the EU has already gained experience with a body such as the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM), which could be used as a first step on the way to establishing an ECPC,

J. insisting however also that the experiences of the ECMM and the Kosovo verification mission show the limitations of the concept of the ECPC,

K. whereas the inadequate deployment of unarmed observers, who could easily be taken hostage, may also have politically undesirable consequences,

L. emphasising that many specialised NGOs, many of them with detailed and extensive field experience, could make a valuable contribution to such a project,

M. stressing that any civilians taking part in a peace corps must be properly trained,

N. whereas the ECPC must not become a large and inflexible organisational structure, which would entail high and unproductive costs and prevent the flexible use of resources from various sources, both governmental and non-governmental,

1. Recommends to the Council to produce a feasibility study about the possibility of establishing an ECPC within the framework of a stronger and more effective Common Foreign and Security Policy;

2. Recommends that, in so doing, the Council should consider the possibility of practical peace-making measures such as arbitration and confidence-building between the warring parties, humanitarian aid, reintegration (inter alia by disarming and demobilising former combatants), rehabilitation, reconstruction and monitoring and improving the human rights situation;

3. Recommends that the Council make minimum, flexible arrangements for the sole purpose of reviewing and mobilising both the resources of NGOs and those made available by States, and possibly participating in their coordination;

4. Recommends that the Council instruct the Early Warning Unit to examine and identify cases in which an ECPC could be used;

5. Recommends to the Council to report to the EP about the ECMM making a full evaluation of the role of this body and its future perspectives and limitations;

6. Recommends to the Council and the Commission, in the framework of this feasibility study, to organise a hearing to evaluate in depth the role that NGOs have played for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the prevention of violence in former Yugoslavia and Caucasia;

7. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission.