More women in leadership positions of CSDP missions, mandatory trainings on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a deadline for the goal of 50% women in leadership positions at EEAS … I’m proud of the Green and feminist demands we pushed through in two annual reports on the EU’s Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policy that were voted on in plenary this week.
As shadow rapporteur for the Annual report on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) I successfully pushed several issues: The report calls for gender mainstreaming in CSDP drafting, more women in leadership positions of CSDP missions and for guarantees of comprehensive trainings on UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Further, military CSDP missions should employ gender advisors; the European External Action Service (EEAS) should advocate more strongly for an increase in the proportion of women in EU crisis missions.
In addition to these issues, we as Greens/EFA were also able to ensure that the report criticises the ineffective CSDP missions in Palestine and Libya and calls for an overhaul of the missions in Mali and elsewhere. The main point here is that military training must be more closely aligned with human rights principles and should be embedded in comprehensive security sector reform. Our amendment on this had already been adopted during negotiations.
One other result was very important to me: thanks to a Green amendment, a paragraph that called for money from the European Defence Fund for the establishment of a European missile defence system was deleted from the annual report. Such a system is completely unnecessary; after all, there is already a NATO missile defence system.
When it comes to the Common Security and Defence Policy, calls for “strategic autonomy” of the EU arise all too often. Unfortunately, the unity of the EU is often undermined by unilateral decisions of governments, for example on arms exports – often by the very states calling for “strategic autonomy”. I gave my plenary speech on this topic.
Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence policy 2020
Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security policy 2020
We were also able to push through Green and feminist demands in the Annual report on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP): The report encourages the EEAS to adopt concrete targets for more diversity and to set a deadline for the goal of 50% women in leadership positions. EU member states should develop national action plans based on the Gender Action Plan III and the EU Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
Despite these successes, both annual reports contain passages that are reason for concern to us Greens.
For example, the CSDP annual report calls on all 27 member states to increase their defence spending until it reaches 2 percent of gross domestic product across the EU. This is not in line with our Green position and we opposed this demand with amendments – which, however, did not find a majority in plenary.
The CFSP annual report also includes a call for the completion of the review of the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement – as Greens we are campaigning against the agreement, which would promote intensive livestock farming and thus the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
The group line therefore was to vote against the CSDP report and abstain on the CFSP report. Both reports still were adopted by Parliament.
I am nevertheless proud of what we achieved on the CSDP and CFSP annual reports. As Greens/EFA, we will continue to work to ensure that the European Security, Defence and Foreign Policy takes greater account of the concerns of women and minorities, environmental aspects and the issue of disarmament.
