The European Movement International welcomes the adoption yesterday of the ‘Kalniete-Report on the EU in a changing global environment – a more connected, contested and complex world’. In the context of its own recently adopted policy position on security, and the upcoming EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, the Movement is encouraged by the European Parliament’s commitment towards:

• Defining ‘strategic and operational objectives’ which will help establish a coordinated and impactful response to Europe’s security concerns under the banner of the High Representative’s Global Strategy.
• Working ‘to enhance coherent and structured cooperation on defence research, the industrial base and cyber defence through pooling and sharing and other cooperative projects’, which are steps that will help enable a closer, integrated and more competitive defence industry as discussed in the European Movement’s position. In particular, the European Movement urges EU Member States to invest more in sharing information and improving digital security, while respecting the privacy of citizens.
• Moving ‘towards permanently pooled multinational military units, joint defence forces and the framing of a common defence policy’, including the establishment of a ‘Defence Union’ and a ‘permanent EU military headquarters’. In its own policy position, the European Movement sets out the need for the eventual development of an EU army, which will better allow the Union to respond with one voice on the global stage.
• Using the ‘current activation of Article 42(7) TEU [to] serve as a catalyst for unleashing the potential of all the security- and defence-related Treaty provisions’. However, the European Movement is keen to underline that any such measures only be employed with the aim of ensuring peace on the European continent and in its neighbourhood, and to contribute to peace efforts worldwide while defending human rights and promoting European values.

In addition the European Movement notes strong commitments towards understanding the broader, strategic, and geopolitical interests of Europe, which match calls in its own policy position for a more holistic approach to security policy. These include:

• Strengthening cooperation with regional actors, including EU-NATO cooperation
• Responding effectively to the refugee context, by planning for the long term
• Understanding the important strategic need for an Energy Union
• Ensuring that development cooperation is an essential part of the EU’s security planning

Jo Leinen MEP, President, European Movement International, said:
“The crises around the European Union show that we urgently need a strategic approach to our Foreign and Security Policy. We cannot continue with the current policy of day-to-day fixes. Europe can only play a significant role on the world stage if it speaks with one voice.”

[ENDS]

Notes to the Editors
1. The European Movement International is one of the largest pan and pro-European civil society organisations with currently more than 70 Member Organisations, bringing together representatives from European associations, political parties, enterprises and trade unions. www.europeanmovement.eu
2. You can read the full policy position here.