Andi Cristea, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, many thanks to the rapporteur and to colleagues for the solid text we have before us today. It is clear that we need to enhance the effectiveness of our external financing instruments. We need an architecture that is able to match the unprecedented challenges we are confronted with.

In the context of the preparation of the Commission’s proposal for the next MFF, the Commission and the European External Action Service are discussing the structure of the external financing instruments to simplify the architecture and enhance flexibility. We must ensure that appropriate safeguards in terms of parliamentary scrutiny are put in place. A simplified architecture of the instruments achieved through their consolidation would have to be accompanied by a new oversight model of governance and parliamentary scrutiny, ensuring full accountability. In addition, a consolidation of instruments would have very political implications, even more so in the context of Brexit and budget pressure. Current priorities this House has fought hard for – human rights, development, enlargement and neighbourhood policy, to name just a few – must remain at the heart of our external action.