This new parliamentary term begins with geopolitical tensions running high. Autocratic regimes are acting in increasingly concerted ways to undermine the rules-based international order and its multilateral organisations, using illegal behaviour, aggressive proxies and outright war.
As this destabilisation closes in on the EU, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will push to redefine our Common Foreign and Security Policy into a genuine field of European policy co-operation, to increaseour effectiveness and promote our interests on the international stage.
AFET will continue to fulfil our function of political scrutiny as well as consultation. We will co-operate closely with the high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission (HR/VP), the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the European Commission to promote the EU’s interests and values and to respond to ongoing and emerging crises. We expect the HR/VP to respond to Parliament’s calls, requests and concerns swiftly and in writing.
We will continue to call for close co-operation with international partners who seek to maintain a rules-based international order. The US remains our most important strategic ally and a strong transatlantic relationship – irrespective of who is president – is indispensable for Europe’s security.
Equally, we will endeavour to support closer foreign and security co-operation with our partners in the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are equally important partners. With regard to our immediate neighbourhood, we will continue to advance EU enlargement and support candidate countries in making meaningful progress towards fulfilling all accession criteria.
Moreover, the European Union should use the new legislative term to prioritise the visibility of existing EU action abroad. We can achieve this through initiatives such as “Team Europe,” which has already successfully addressed the devastating effects of the Covid-19 crisis in partner regions, particularly in Africa.
Russia’s war against Ukraine will remain a priority, and we will call on member states to continue supporting Ukraine militarily, financially, economically and through humanitarian aid until the Russian aggressor has retreated from Ukrainian soil. Until then, we must not tire of implementing all existing and future sanction packages against the Putin regime, closing any existing loopholes.
We will also maintain our unwavering support for the 10-point peace plan put forward by President Zelensky: Any initiative aimed at ending the Russian war of aggression needs to be based on input provided by Ukraine. And weremain fully committed to the regular exchanges with the Foreign Affairs Committee of Ukraine’s parliament.
We will persistently call for the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023 triggered a conflict that caused a catastrophic humanitarian situation that is now spreading to Lebanon.
While Israel’s right to self-defence as enshrined in international law is non-negotiable, AFET will continue to monitor the current military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah. Any further escalation would have dramatic consequences for the region and beyond.
The Iranian mullah regime continues to be the main instigator of violence and destabilisation, both through its proxies and more recently through its direct actions. It is high time for the EU to heed Parliament’s call to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Iranian regime’s military arm, to the EU list of terrorist organisations.