C 47/140
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
7.2.2023
Wednesday 6 July 2022
40.
Underlines the importance of continued multilateral cooperation on matters of security and defence; highlights the work of the EU-NATO partnership and EU-OSCE cooperation built on common support for the shared core values of democracy, freedom, respect for human rights and human dignity, the rule of law and the promotion of peace and international cooperation while protecting the rules-based international order; calls on the EU Member States and NATO members that have not already done so to join European security and defence initiatives in order to further complement and strengthen joint cooperation;
41.
Emphasises that multilateralism and any reform of the current system should also focus on increased transparency and accountability, as well as engagement with non-state actors, in order to help restore people’s trust in these institutions and to give them greater legitimacy; stresses the need to address the challenges of preventing and combating illicit financial flows and strengthening international cooperation and good practices on assets return and recovery, including by more effective measures to implement existing obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; stresses the need to implement effective, inclusive and sustainable measures to prevent and combat corruption within the framework of the 2030 Agenda; stresses that the combating of illicit financial flows must be streamlined at a global level;
42.
Stresses the importance of continuing to reach out to allies and like-minded partners in international organisations and multilateral fora to consolidate a coalition of like-minded countries committed to common values and objectives and to policy dialogue and effective cooperation globally; underlines the need for an agreement on EU-UK foreign policy and security cooperation to be added as an annex to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which would allow both sides to be able to better confront common global security and foreign policy challenges; stresses that such an agreement would also serve to facilitate cooperation in multilateral organisations, in particular the UN, bearing in mind both sides’ many shared values and interests;
43.
Points to the particular relevance, not only of traditional transatlantic or European partners such as the US and Canada, as well as the UK, the Western Balkans and other countries of the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood, but also of other like-minded democratic allies in Latin America, the Indo-Pacific, and Africa that can create in partnership a broader area of common values and standards and a commitment to promoting global responses to global challenges as well as a broader international coalition of like-minded partners; underlines, in this regard, the importance of increased dialogue and cooperation with like-minded African countries, and of supporting them in building a future for Africa premised on democracy, inclusion and prosperity, while being mindful of the need to tackle challenges and security threats stemming from climate change, terrorism and organised crime;
44.
Highlights that EU relations with the African Union (AU) and Latin America and the Caribbean have an intrinsic value in themselves and are of crucial importance for a renewed multilateralism; recalls that in their joint statement entitled ‘Africa and Europe: two continents with a joint vision for 2030’, the EU and AU have committed to work together to promote effective multilateralism within the rules-based international order, with the UN at its core, and pledged to work towards more converging positions in multilateral fora to reduce global inequalities, strengthen solidarity, fight climate change and improve delivery on ‘global public goods’, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the AU Agenda 2063;
45.
Supports, therefore, efforts by the VP/HR, the Council and the Commission to further strengthen the EU’s partnership with the AU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States; points to the importance of furthering convergence of positions at the UN and other multilateral fora between the EU and both accession and partner countries; calls on the EU to expand its ability to assist partner and like-minded countries, including through capacity building, knowledge-sharing, training and twinning, so that they can engage more effectively in the multilateral system, as well as to exchange best practices with them in order to also learn from their experiences; reiterates the importance of reinforcing the existing multilateral fora with like-minded partners, especially the EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summits;