Istungi stenogramm

Esmaspäev, 11. märts 2019 - Strasbourg

24. ELi konfliktide ennetamise ja vahendamise suutlikkuse suurendamine (lühiettekanne)

  President. – The next item is a short presentation of the report by Soraya Post, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, on building EU capacity on conflict prevention and mediation (A8-0075/2019) (2018/2159(INI)).

  Soraya Post, Rapporteur. – Mr President, the European Union is, at its core, a peace project. As such, we must remain committed to reinforcing our role as a global actor for peace. The main idea of the report is to reinforce the institutional capacities of the EU for conflict prevention and mediation, as well as to increase the role of the European Parliament in this area.

Our most important suggestions are to establish an EU High—Level Advisory Board on conflict prevention and mediation under the Vice President/High Representative. This advisory board will set up a pool of senior political mediators and conflict prevention experts. A High—Level Advisory Board for the EU also reflects what the UN has successfully put in place under the new Secretary-General.

We also need an EU Special Envoy for Peace. There is indeed a need for a clear mandate on how to build and promote peace at all levels in the world. Furthermore, the establishment of additional institutional mechanisms, such as task forces for specific conflict prevention situations, are also important aspects on how to strengthen the institutional capacities for conflict prevention and mediation.

These horizontal mechanisms are a very effective and pragmatic approach to coordinate EU institutional work on the ground. The establishment of a dedicated Council working group on conflict prevention and mediation is also a tool put forward in the report. The Council must put conflict prevention and mediation high on its agenda and step up its work through focused and informed measures.

When it comes to the European Parliament, its growing role in political mediation processes – notably via DEG activities – is more and more recognised. The report also suggests the appointment of a Vice—President responsible for coordinating the mediation and facilitation of dialogue activities. A yearly report to Parliament on the progress made in implementing EU policy commitments on conflict prevention and mediation is also requested. Additionally, I have been clear on the budget issues. If we want the EU to act and to be efficient on conflict prevention and mediation, we absolutely need to ensure that the new MFF will foresee sufficient and earmarked financial resources.

We must also see the fundamental logic of the active work and representation of women with women’s experiences, youth and civil society at all stages of conflict prevention and mediation work. This is why I put great effort into mainstreaming the gender perspective in the report, in line with the internationally accepted Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. This i reinforced by the EU in the conclusions adopted by the Council on women, peace and security just a few months ago, in December 2018.

In their conclusions, the Council recalls the commitment of the European Union and its Member States to full implementation of the WPS Agenda, which consists of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and its follow-up resolutions, ensuring that the 1325 agenda is fully integrated into all EU policies and efforts. I am very surprised by the fact that gender mainstreaming was not accepted by a majority in the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET).

In order to rebalance the report, I have now put forward amendments for the plenary on the following topics: to call for the EU to take a lead role in the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution on women, peace and security; in the systematic establishment of a reconciliation and accountability mechanism; in the establishment of a pool of mediators that includes current and former members of the European Parliament; and in the establishment of a European women’s mediator network, and in gender budgeting.

Vystoupení na základě přihlášení se zvednutím ruky

  Julie Ward (S&D). – Mr President, on Friday 8 March, we celebrated International Women’s Day, so I took the opportunity to reflect on the situation of women in conflict zones who suffer from attacks on their human rights and physical and mental health. On a wider scale, millions of women around the world have been, are, and will be, victims of gender-based violence.

The EU must be at the forefront of preventing and tackling violence against women and must encourage a holistic approach to dismantling all gender-based discrimination and violence, and this must go hand in hand with effective awareness raising and education for men and women on gender equality and human and women’s rights. However, none of these tools can be effectively shaped and implemented without the direct involvement of women from all backgrounds, as gender-based violence takes many forms. I believe it’s crucial, when building policies to protect women, that we involve many organisations from civil society, who are doing extraordinary work helping women in difficult situations.

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η πρόληψη των συγκρούσεων και η διαμεσολάβηση πρέπει να αποτελεί σημαντική δράση της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης μια και αποτελεί έναν διεθνή παίκτη, μια soft power, η οποία οφείλει να δράσει με βάση τις αρχές της ειρηνικής συνύπαρξης. Φυσικά, πρέπει να διαμορφώσει αξίες και αρχές η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Βασική αρχή είναι, πρώτα απ’ όλα, η εμπέδωση της αρχής της μη επέμβασης στα εσωτερικά κάθε κράτους μέλους. Δεύτερον, του αμοιβαίου οικονομικού οφέλους. Τρίτον, της στήριξης και τήρησης του διεθνούς δικαίου και των αποφάσεων του ΟΗΕ. Τέταρτον, του σεβασμού των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων. Πέμπτον, της ειρηνικής επίλυσης των διαφορών με βάση τον χάρτη του ΟΗΕ.

Επιπλέον, πρέπει να επιδιώξει την κοινοβουλευτική διπλωματία, διότι με αυτόν τον τρόπο μπορεί πραγματικά να υπάρξει προσέγγιση με άλλα κράτη και να δρομολογηθεί επίλυση διαφορών. Όμως, το πιο βασικό είναι η αντιμετώπιση των αιτίων που προκαλούν τις συγκρούσεις και, φυσικά, πρέπει να υπάρχει μια ανθρωποκεντρική προσέγγιση εκ μέρους της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.

(Konec vystoupení na základě přihlášení se zvednutím ruky)

  Tibor Navracsics, Member of the Commission. – Mr President I would like to warmly welcome the report on building EU capacity on conflict prevention and mediation. As rapporteur Post rightly points out, conflict prevention and mediation are core issues of our daily work, which we are actively prioritising as also spelled out in our Global Strategy.

Today the EU is involved in some 40 mediation and ILO processes worldwide and in some of them the EU is in the lead and its efforts is clearly visible. In other cases, and deliberately so, we are working more discreetly.

In response to the impact of conflicts on our societies, we need to redouble our conflict-prevention efforts and to enhance mediation as a first response to tensions. Conflict prevention and mediation is an important priority for the European External Action Service (EEAS). The ongoing work has, for example, entailed active participation by the EU in the international mediation efforts accompanying the ongoing peace process in Mali. We are also building the capacity of parties in conflict to move towards peace in the Central African Republic.

One further example is our support for women mediators who work at the front lines in Yemen and Syria to play a meaningful role in helping to make peace a reality. At the same time, we work very closely with our regional partners such as the United Nations, the African Union, the OSCE and others, by supporting their mediation work.

As conflicts around the world increase both in number and complexity, we need more than ever to cooperate and complement each other. We also regularly convene meetings with the Member States and invite the European Parliament to share our insights and enhance our collective work by creating a common approach on mediation.

As part of planning to enhance EEAS mediation capacities, an internal pool of mediators which can be deployed on behalf of the EU is being set up. Furthermore, a high-level interinstitutional and mediation taskforce – which should provide guidance for high-profile mediation assignments, risk assessments and enhanced cooperation – is being launched.

It is sometimes difficult to demonstrate the success of mediation and conflict prevention activities that are often conducted discreetly. The demand for mediation and conflict prevention has risen exponentially and the mediation field is developing fast in response to the changing nature of conflicts. The EU shouldn’t only want to keep up with the pace of efforts, but should want to lead in this field, and we are working hard to make this possible.

I count on your support to ensure that we will have dedicated and earmarked resources in the next Multiannual Financial Framework to further step up the EU’s role in conflict prevention and mediation. Let me commend rapporteur Post and all of you for this important report, which covers the pertinent issues very well. I hope that we will continue to work closely on these matters.

  President. – We will of course, Commissioner.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place on Tuesday 12 March 2019.

Written statements (Rule 162)

  Eduard Kukan (PPE), in writing. – We had a good chance to make a report, which would give clear instructions to such an important issue as conflict prevention and mediation. The EU needs to have its capacities in these areas ready and checked. We are surrounded by countries, where the skills and methodology in conflict resolution or mediation could not only save lives, but also contribute to a safer, more stable and peaceful environment. Mediation and conflict prevention should become an integral part of our external action. The EU is well known for using soft power, by developing further the framework and methodology and capacities for the mediation work. In this respect we should be enhancing our capacities and improve inter-institutional cooperation and communication. All EU institutions which work in this area should have a common joint approach. As an MEP with substantial experience in mediation, I would like to stress the positive role that the Parliament started to play in facilitation and mediation of political crises. We have good results in Ukraine and North Macedonia through Jean Monnet Dialogues. We should be building up on these successful practices.