Debate: Implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy - annual report  - Implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy - annual report  - Human Rights and Democracy in the World and the EU policy on the matter - annual report
Date: TUESDAY, 19 JANUARY 2021
Speaker: Sven Mikser
Country: Hungary
Language: EN

I believe that every pro-European group in this Parliament shares the position that the Union must play a major role as a provider of sustainable peace and stability on the European continent and its immediate neighbourhood, as well as beyond, and that we should be a strong promoter and defender of rules—based multilateralism on the global stage. The Union’s ability to deliver on these fronts depends on a variety of different factors, but it is inevitable that, in order for our diplomatic, political and humanitarian efforts to bear fruit, we must also be a strong, capable and credible player in the area of defence and security. This involves a greater strategic autonomy and an increased ability to plan and conduct operations without having to rely on external assistance regarding critical enablers and capabilities.  But, before getting to the capabilities and strategic autonomy, let me first say a few words regarding the ongoing CSDP missions and operations. While the report obviously goes into greater detail regarding individual missions, I would like to share some more general remarks.  First, in order for our civilian and military CSDP missions and operations to be successful and achieve the long-term goals of producing sustainable stability, it is of paramount importance that they be properly resourced. Therefore, let me repeat the call on all the Member States to contribute all necessary forces and assets to those CSDP missions. Let me also stress the importance of a conflict—sensitive and people-centric approach, which puts human security at the core of our engagement. This should go hand in hand with an effective strategic communication strategy that prevents the spread of misinformation and provides adequate and accurate information about our operational goals, as well as broader policy objectives.  In several theatres where we are currently engaged, other external actors are also operating. Some of them do not share our goals and our value system and in some instances they are actively trying to subvert our efforts. If we want our achievements to be sustainable and if we do not want to see other potentially hostile parties reaping the benefits of our sacrifices, we must also work towards the implementation of the future European peace facility. Needless to say, this has to be done with all the necessary safeguards in place.  Similarly to every other policy area and undertaking of this past year, the CSDP missions and operations have also been directly affected by the COVID pandemic, which has exposed a number of our vulnerabilities. The lessons learned here must be thoroughly analysed and all the shortcomings must be swiftly addressed. Let me now move to the issue of European defence capabilities. I sincerely believe that if we want to achieve strategic autonomy in the area of defence and security, if we truly aspire to technological sovereignty and if we want our defence industries to be competitive, we must also be serious about the need to invest in defence—led research and technology and to address the existing capability shortfalls. We need to enhance the coherence and consistency of the EU’s defence planning and development tools – the European defence fund (EDF), the European defence industrial development programme (EDIDP), permanent structured cooperation (PESCO), the coordinated annual review on defence (CARD) – and we must properly resource capability development initiatives. A failure to do so from the Union’s long-term budget is not only regrettable, but it will directly and negatively impact our ability to achieve the ambitions we have set for ourselves.  All the Member States operate on the principle of a single set of forces so, even with the best cooperative efforts, our collective capability continues to be, to a large extent, the sum of our national capabilities and therefore I believe it’s also imperative that individual Member States honour their commitments regarding the defence expenditure. Let me stress that a more autonomous European defence capability will in no way be in contradiction with our goal of strengthening our cooperation with other organisations, notably NATO. The EU’s quest for greater strategic autonomy is fully compatible with the aim of strengthening EU—NATO cooperation and the transatlantic relationship.  In addition to our traditional or, if you wish, conventional, capabilities, I would also like to underscore the need to strengthen the European Union’s collective resilience to hybrid and cyber threats. This call has a particular urgency since hybrid and cyber operations are increasingly used by our adversaries, both to interfere with the democratic processes in our Member States, as well as in our partner countries, and they are also used to undermine our missions and operations abroad. Finally, another growing threat to stability and security in the world, including on the European continent, is the gradual weakening and erosion of the global arms control architecture. The non—compliance by certain parties with the existing treaties or the collapsing of those treaties altogether increases unpredictability in the European area and the likelihood of a sudden escalation of tensions and conflicts.  To conclude, I would like to express my thanks to the shadow rapporteurs for their contributions to this report and for the constructive spirit in which all the compromise amendments of the final text were negotiated.