Posėdžio stenograma

Pirmadienis, 2020 m. lapkričio 23 d. - Briuselis

21. COVID-19 protrūkio pasekmės užsienio politikai (trumpas pristatymas)

  Puhemies. – Esityslistalla on seuraavana lyhyt esittely Hilde Vautmansin ulkoasiainvaliokunnan puolesta laatimasta mietinnöstä Covid-19-pandemian ulkopoliittiset seuraukset [2020/2111(INI)] (A9-0204/2020).

  Hilde Vautmans, rapporteur. – Madam President, the COVID-19 crisis has shaken up the world profoundly, and we haven’t found the politics yet to cope with it. That’s the harsh but undeniable conclusion of my report. Instead of working more closely together to find a solution, the world’s superpowers have abused the pandemic to compete and to try to shape the world order to their own advantage.

So we urge Europe to strengthen its foreign policy presence in order to be able to defend its interests in the new geopolitical era – because it is a new political era. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a game changer. It has changed the relationship between the world’s biggest players. Look at the United States. Under the failed leadership of Trump, the United States opted to stand alone. There was no cooperation. Even worse, they sometimes denied the severity of the pandemic by spreading misleading information and undermined global institutions to deal with it.

China actually did the same. The lack of transparency on the outbreak of the virus and attempts to withhold information about its magnitude made at the start of the battle against the virus was ineffective. Since then, the ‘virus diplomacy’ as I call it is seeking to fill the global political vacuum, and in the light of such disturbing trends, our response has been slow and disjointed.

We need to reduce our dependency on third countries in strategic sectors. We need better communication strategies and strong resilience in order to counter this information. That is what we need to do to play a bigger role in the world. My report is very clear. We need to get our own house in order first. We need to reclaim our place on the world stage to make sure our children will continue to live in a world of cooperation, democracy and the rule of law. We can no longer count on others for solutions. We need to be able to count on Europe by making it more decisive, more dynamic, and more resilient internationally.

Let us work together to finally get rid of the unanimity rule in foreign affairs, to be able to push back against the strongmen surrounding us, to build a real European defence union as the European pillar within NATO, to re-engage with the United States, to develop a new strategy towards China, and to urge them to fully cooperate with an independent international investigation into the origin of the virus.

Colleagues, Commissioner, let us roll up our sleeves and launch the conference on the future of Europe. Let us show that we are serious about the geopolitical Commission. Thank you very much.

  Mairead McGuinness, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, I should like to thank Ms Vautmans for her words this evening and for her work on this report. In this report, Ms Vautmans, you say COVID-19 is a game changer, and it is, and one that we were not prepared for, but it very much is a game changer. And you speak of a new political era, so let me just outline what the Commission is doing in this regard.

Firstly, we’re working on a joint communication on multilateralism that will reaffirm our commitment and propose a strategic approach, underlining the EU interest in promoting multilateral solutions. Respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law will remain at the very heart of our response to this pandemic. The new action plan on human rights and democracy seeks to reduce inequalities by combating poverty and social exclusion and by promoting non-discriminatory access to social services, including quality and affordable health services. Our global EU response to the pandemic, that brought together Team Europe, has now reached EUR 38.5 billion. We have sent a strong message of EU unity in times of crisis, as well as international solidarity and global leadership. The Western Balkans and eastern neighbourhood have remained our close partners throughout the pandemic.

In your report, you call for united EU efforts to invest in the region. The economic and investment plan presented in October is a clear step in that direction. We are continuing the discussion on a reinforced EU partnership with southern neighbourhood countries. We will jointly identify concrete areas of cooperation with a focus on supporting resilience through reforms that directly impact the quality of life of citizens.

COVID-19 is likely to impact conflict areas such as the Sahel or the Horn of Africa and least-developed countries disproportionately, we know this, increasing their vulnerability and the vulnerability of their citizens. We are stepping up the political dialogue with African partners ahead of the next EU-Africa summit.

In the wake of the US presidential election on 3 November, the EU wants to enhance cooperation with the new US administration, not only to tackle COVID-19, but also to maintain and reform the rules-based order and crucial commitments, such as the Paris Agreement.

It is important to continue calling on China to participate in the review of lessons learned from the international health response and to address the consequences of the pandemic in developing countries, notably as regards debt relief.

Despite the limited resources for such great stakes, the next MFF provides a real opportunity for the European Union to pull its weight in leading by example, engaging with others and promoting a sustainable recovery, underpinned by our values and interests.

Thank you for your attention and I look forward to your vote and discussion.

  Puhemies. – Kohdan käsittely on päättynyt.

Äänestys toimitetaan keskiviikkona 25. marraskuuta 2020.

Kirjalliset lausumat (171 artikla)

  Kinga Gál (PPE), írásban. – Covid19-járvány külpolitikai következményeiről szóló saját kezdeményezésű parlamenti jelentés eredeti célja az elmúlt egy év világjárvánnyal kapcsolatos eseményeinek a megfelelő értelmezési keretbe helyezése lett volna. Ehelyett a jelentés tartalma kimerül egyes országok, beleértve az Amerikai Egyesült Államok járvánnyal kapcsolatos intézkedéseinek a bírálásában. A jelentés a világjárvánnyal összefüggésben nem álló kérdésekben, sok esetben ideológiai alapon foglal állást, mint például a migrációs útvonalak esetében. Elfogadhatatlan, hogy a járvány ürügyén a jelentés szorgalmazza az uniós külpolitika területén a minősített többségi szavazásra való áttérést. Ezzel nem csak hatáskörét lépi túl, hanem figyelmen kívül hagyja számos tagállam és európai parlamenti képviselő határozott ellenző véleményét is a kérdésben, hiszen nem lehet elvenni a jogot és a lehetőséget a kisebb tagállamoktól, hogy saját érdekeiket megjeleníthessék az európai külpolitikai döntéshozatal során. Mindez még jobban megosztaná a tagállamokat egy olyan kritikus világjárvány idején, amikor épp ellenkezőjére: az együttműködésre és nagyobb összhangra lenne szükség. Így a jelentés csak gyengíti Európa nemzetközi pozícióit, ahelyett, hogy erősítené azokat a Covid19-járvány idején.

  Илхан Кючюк (Renew), в писмена форма. – Наред със здравната, икономическата и социалната криза, които пандемията от COVID-19 предизвика по целия свят, тя провокира системни напрежения в глобалното управление с широкообхватни и дългосрочни последици за международните отношения. Днес COVID-19 засяга ключови аспекти на външната политика и сигурността и отбраната на ЕС, но е и повратен момент на международната сцена, мултипликатор на рисковете и катализатор за промяна в световния ред. За съжаление, липсата на глобално лидерство и на координиран международен отговор в началните фази на кризата бяха основна предпоставка за бързото разпространяване на вируса, а това от своя страна провокира изолационистки решения, надигане на авторитарния национализъм и спонсорирането на държавни кампании за дезинформация.

Ето защо смятам, че ЕС трябва да работи за съживяване на трансатлантическото партньорство час по-скоро, за да стане борбата с пандемията и други големи международни предизвикателства, като например изменението на климата, по-ефективна. Необходимо е да намерим нова основа на сътрудничество с нашите стратегически партньори от САЩ в полза на многостранното сътрудничество, международното правосъдие, върховенството на закона и правата на човека срещу националистическите и авторитарните амбиции.