European Parliament resolution on the criteria for EU peace enforcement operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Date: 2006-03-23
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Democratic Republic of the Congo, military cooperation, peacekeeping, presidential election, the EU's international role

C 292 E/118

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

1.12.2006

Thursday 23 March 2006

P6_TA(2006)0111

Criteria for EU peace enforcement operations, especially in the Democratic
Republic of Congo

European Parliament resolution on the criteria for EU peace enforcement operations in the Demo-
cratic Republic of Congo

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the ‘responsibility to protect’ enshrined in the Outcome Document of the 2005 UN

World Summit adopted in New York on 16 September 2005,

— having regard to the fundamental importance of stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

for the stability of the whole of central Africa and the Great Lakes region,

— having regard to the fact that the DRC is struggling to recover from a devastating conflict that has

caused over 4 million deaths,

— having regard to the delicate transitional phase of the DRC, involving the difficult task of setting up

democratic institutions,

— having regard to the presence of 17 000 UN peacekeeping troops in the DRC, with the mission of

stabilising the country,

— having regard to the EU's involvement in maintaining the stability of the DRC, through the two
ongoing European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) missions: the EU advisory and assistance mission
for DRC security reform (‘EUSEC DR Congo’) and the EU Police Mission in Kinshasa (‘EUPOL Kinshasa’),

— having regard to the encouraging results of the constitutional referendum in December 2005,

— having regard to the elections planned for the DRC in June 2006,

— having regard to the UN's request for assistance during the period of the elections in the DRC,

— having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the EU has only a limited number of deployable troops at its disposal, and its priorities should
be maintaining peace and stability in the Balkans and in the Union's own immediate geographical
neighbourhood,

B.

having regard, however to the UN's request and to the fact that it is an overarching goal of the EU and
its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security Strategy (ESS) to strengthen the
UN as a framework for effective multilateralism, as outlined in the ESS,

Considers that the following conditions must be fulfilled for this complex and potentially risky engage-

1.
ment of troops under the command of the EU:

— such an operation should have a strong and clear mandate that will refer exclusively to the security of

the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2006,

— the military operation would have to be limited in time to the period of the elections. There has to be a
clear strategy on how to transfer the tasks, after the expiration of the operation's mandate, to the UN
and/or the Congolese police and military,

— security in the country, especially in the Katanga region and in the border region with Rwanda, should
remain under the responsibility of the UN; the geographical scope of the EU mandate must be deter-
mined in accordance with the number of available troops, their security requirements and the oper-
ational requirements of the mission,

1.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 292 E/119

Thursday 23 March 2006

— under no circumstances should the military operation consist of troops from only one Member State.
The European character of the operation should be expressed in the participation of several Member
States,

— an intervention from the EU could only take place at the formal request of the Congolese interim

government,

— the deployment of troops under the command of the EU would have a double task: deterring possible
trouble-makers and encouraging the DRC's citizens to exercise their right to vote. The European oper-
ation must therefore be of an adequate and credible size,

— in order to achieve these goals, the Council would have to develop a clear concept of how to deploy the

necessary military or police (possibly gendarmerie) forces,

— a time-limited military operation would have to be closely linked with the efforts of the international

community for the reconstruction of the DRC after the civil war,

— clear commitments have to be made by the international community to improve the long-term effi-

ciency and sustainability of the Congolese police and armed forces;

2.
Calls on the Council to appear before Parliament to present a clear proposal with a clear mandate fully
based on a well-established scenario of needs, including a timetable; notes that for a possible EU mission to
the DRC, there will need to be a specific EU mandate, based on the UN Charter;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Member States,

3.
the DRC transitional government and the UN Secretary-General.

P6_TA(2006)0112

Revision of the Cotonou Agreement and setting of the amount for the 10th EDF

European Parliament resolution on the revision of the Cotonou Agreement and setting of the
amount for the 10th EDF

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the partnership agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific
Group of States (ACP) of the one part and the European Community and its Member States, of the
other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (1) as amended in Luxembourg on 24 June 2005 (the
Cotonou Agreement), and particularly Annex Ia concerning the multiannual framework of cooperation
under the Cotonou Agreement,

— having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-
ment entitled ‘Towards the full integration of co-operation with ACP countries in the EU budget’, of
8 October 2003 (COM(2003)0590),

— having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 15 and 16 December
2005, particularly Point 70 and Annex II concerning the respective contributions of Member States to
the ACP countries,

— having regard to its resolutions of 1 April 2004 on Budgetisation of the European Development
Fund (2), of 8 June 2005 on Policy Challenges and Budgetary Means of the enlarged Union 2007-
2013 (3), and of 17 November 2005 on a development strategy for Africa (4),

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.
(2) OJ C 103 E, 29.4.2004, p. 833.
(3) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0224.
(4) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0445.