Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2023

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 2Adopted

   Paragraph 59

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … rulings of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina; Added: denounces the recurring inflammatory rhetoric and secessionist laws and policies of the leadership of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity, including the celebration of the unconstitutional ‘RS Day’ on 9 January 2024; reiterates its call for targeted sanctions against destabilising actors within Bosnia and Herzegovina, notably Milorad Removed: Dodik; Added: Dodik, as well as other high-ranking officials of RS and Serbian officials providing political and material support for secessionist policies; calls on all Member States to ensure that such sanctions can be adopted by the Council and to impose them bilaterally or in concert with other Member States if their adoption in the Council is not possible; welcomes the agreement reached to extend the mandate of the EU Force … a pivotal role in the security and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Added: urges the EU’s military mission to actively prevent unlawful parades and other provocations as well as threats against everyone working to help the victims of genocide and investing in inter-ethnic reconciliation and a peaceful future for the country;

2. Amendment 2Adopted

   Paragraph 59

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … rulings of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina; Added: denounces the recurring inflammatory rhetoric and secessionist laws and policies of the leadership of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity, including the celebration of the unconstitutional ‘RS Day’ on 9 January 2024; reiterates its call for targeted sanctions against destabilising actors within Bosnia and Herzegovina, notably Milorad Removed: Dodik; Added: Dodik, as well as other high-ranking officials of RS and Serbian officials providing political and material support for secessionist policies; calls on all Member States to ensure that such sanctions can be adopted by the Council and to impose them bilaterally or in concert with other Member States if their adoption in the Council is not possible; welcomes the agreement reached to extend the mandate of the EU Force … a pivotal role in the security and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Added: urges the EU’s military mission to actively prevent unlawful parades and other provocations as well as threats against everyone working to help the victims of genocide and investing in inter-ethnic reconciliation and a peaceful future for the country;

3. Amendment 3Rejected

   Paragraph 63

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … its position as adopted in its resolution of 19 October 202319; urges Removed: all sides, Added: the Serbian Government, in this context, to work to de-escalate the situation and avoid any …

4. Amendment 4Adopted

   Paragraph 64 a (new)

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   Added: 64a. Regrets the numerous irregularities that were reported by observers during the Serbian early parliamentary elections of 17 December 2023, including, but not limited to, misuse of public resources, pressure on public-sector employees, intimidation and pressure on voters, vote buying and media capture; calls for a prompt independent investigation into these irregularities; against this background, calls on the Serbian authorities to follow up on the recommendations from the international election observation mission; is concerned about the deep polarisation within Serbian society and the recent violent episodes, including the reported beating of an opposition politician by the Serbian secret services;

5. Amendment 13Adopted

   Paragraph 102

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … condemns the sanctions against Members of the European Parliament (and other EU Removed: entities) and national parliaments Added: entities), national parliaments, European think tanks and researchers and calls for their immediate and unconditional lifting;

6. Amendment 14Adopted

   Paragraph 103

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … that the EU’s ‘One China policy’ remains a cornerstone of EU-China relations; Removed: reaffirms the EU’s commitment to Added: reiterates its condemnation of China’s violation of its international commitments, its breaches of the Sino-British and Sino-Portuguese Joint Declarations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and Removed: condemns any possible violations of it; reiterates its condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party’s undermining of democracy in the Hong Kong Removed: Special Administrative Region, including mass surveillance, the continued deterioration of fundamental human rights and the imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong; Added: Basic Law as well as the crackdown on the special administrative region’s autonomy and opposition figures, including members of civil society and their family members; calls on the Commission to assess the autonomous status of Hong Kong Added: and Macao in light of China’s breaches of the Sino-British and Sino-Portuguese Joint Declarations …

7. Amendment 16Adopted

   Paragraph 108

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … rejection of any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Removed: Strait; Added: Strait, which endangers regional stability; calls for the EU and its Member States to ensure, through clear and consistent signalling, that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, particularly by means of force or coercion, cannot be accepted and will have high costs; highlights that China’s territorial claims have no basis in international law; denounces, … to Taiwan, since 2021, by consecutive official delegations from Parliament committees and Added: encourages further exchanges between the EU and Taiwan; calls on the Commission to launch, without delay, preparatory measures for negotiations …

8. Amendment 18Adopted

   Paragraph 110

   Tabled by Reinhard Bütikofer · Verts/ALE

   … assert the EU as a reliable and strategic partner in the Pacific; Added: expresses concern about China’s attempts to dominate its near-seas region, including the South China Sea and the East China Sea, which could seriously tilt the regional balance of power and negatively affect the EU’s economic and political interests; urges China, in this regard, to stop any military actions and pressure directed against the Philippine Navy and its occupied islands in the South China Sea; encourages the Member States to join forces and engage at ministerial level …

9. Amendment 19Rejected

   Paragraph 1 a (new)

   Tabled by Jaak Madison, Harald Vilimsky, Jean-Lin Lacapelle +3 · ID

   Added: 1a. Underlines that unanimity in the Council must be maintained for all decisions relating to foreign and security policy; emphasises that any move towards qualified majority voting in this area will lead to a slippery slope that will further erode the sovereignty of the Member States, since the ability to determine foreign policy is a fundamental aspect of statehood;

10. Amendment 20Rejected

    Paragraph 36 a (new)

    Tabled by Jaak Madison, Harald Vilimsky, Jean-Lin Lacapelle +3 · ID

    Added: 36a. Regrets the fact that the work done by the Member States’ embassies in third countries is now being duplicated by the various EU delegations, which is a waste of taxpayer money and brings no additional benefit;

11. Amendment 28Rejected

    Paragraph 16

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, Manu Pineda · The Left

    16. Removed: Welcomes the additional funding for the European Peace Facility and calls on the Member States to improve the Facility’s ability to act through sustainable and appropriate funding; welcomes the decisions to establish the Act in Support of Ammunition Production and the European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act in order to reinforce European defence capacities; reiterates its call to urgently launch a discussion with a view to establishing another off-budget financial facility that would address the entire life cycle of military capabilities at EU level; Added: Recalls that according to Article 41(2) of the Treaty on European Union, expenditure arising from operations having military or defence implications must not be charged to the Union budget;

12. Amendment 29Rejected

    Paragraph 18 a (new)

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, Manu Pineda · The Left

    Added: 18a. Warns against growing EU dependence on the US, in particular in the wake of the war against Ukraine, which has led to higher energy prices and increased defence expenditure at a time when European workers are seeing their purchasing power decrease;

13. Amendment 30Rejected

    Paragraph 40

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, Leila Chaibi, Marina Mesure +1 · The Left

    … of the Security Council’s membership to better reflect geopolitical reality, including by Removed: establishing a permanent seat for the EU; Added: guaranteeing better global representativeness by including more seats for countries from the Global South; calls on the Commission to focus on ensuring the EU’s strategic indispensability …

14. Amendment 32Rejected

    Paragraph 88 a (new)

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, João Pimenta Lopes, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz +1 · The Left

    Added: 88a. Stresses that the interim ruling issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the highest UN court – states that there is plausible evidence to investigate Israel for genocide and calls on Israel to take steps to prevent this genocide; calls on Member States to support the ICJ and to demand that Israel immediately comply with the legally binding orders issued by the court;

15. Amendment 32Adopted

    Paragraph 88 a (new)

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, João Pimenta Lopes, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz +1 · The Left

    Added: 88a. Stresses that the interim ruling issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the highest UN court – states that there is plausible evidence to investigate Israel for genocide and calls on Israel to take steps to prevent this genocide; calls on Member States to support the ICJ and to demand that Israel immediately comply with the legally binding orders issued by the court;

16. Amendment 33Rejected

    Paragraph 88 b (new)

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz, Manu Pineda · The Left

    Added: 88b. Notes that Israel stands accused of genocide and that the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide; calls, therefore, for the immediate termination of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as the European Union and the Member States cannot be complicit in Israeli war crimes in Gaza;

17. Amendment 34Rejected

    Paragraph 88 c (new)

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz, Manu Pineda · The Left

    Added: 88c. Calls for Member States to immediately stop arms exports to Israel in line with Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment1a; warns that states that support Israel with arms shipments can now be sued in the International Court of Justice for aiding and abetting genocide against Palestinians in violation of Article 3e of the Genocide Convention, which criminalises complicity; ______________ 1a Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment (OJ L 335, 13.12.2008, p. 99).

18. Amendment 35Rejected

    Paragraph 88 d (new)

    Tabled by Marc Botenga, João Pimenta Lopes, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz +2 · The Left

    Added: 88d. Calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza;

19. Amendment 36Rejected

    Paragraph 118

    Tabled by Manon Aubry, Leila Chaibi, Marina Mesure +2 · The Left

    … multilateral global order, international law and respect for democracy and human rights; Removed: welcomes Added: expresses concern about the global climate crisis and recognises the concerns of European farmers about unfair competition in agriculture; calls for a moratorium on the conclusion of Removed: negotiations on the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement and calls for progress to be made towards the signing and ratification of the EU-Mexico Association Agreement; calls on the Commission and the Spanish and Belgian Council Presidencies to advance decisively and conclude the agreement with Mercosur before the end of the current parliamentary term, while keeping the highest level of ambition in relation to the enforcement of its sustainability provisions; also recalls the need to finalise the ratification of the EU-Central America Association Agreement; Added: any new free trade agreements;

20. Amendment 40Adopted

    Paragraph 36

    Tabled by Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Thijs Reuten · S&D

    … climate emergency; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to pursue a Added: feminist foreign and security policy that is in accordance with Parliament’s resolution of …

21. Amendment 42Adopted

    Paragraph 58 a (new)

    Tabled by Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Thijs Reuten · S&D

    Added: 58a. Deplores the fact that the Serbian parliamentary and local elections held on 17 December 2023 deviated from international standards and Serbia’s commitments to free and fair elections, owing to the incumbents’ persistent and systematic abuse of institutions and media in order to gain an unfair and undue advantage; considers that these elections cannot be deemed to have been held in just conditions; is alarmed by reports of the widespread and systematic scale of fraud that compromised the integrity of the elections in Serbia; notes that the I-EOM stated that the election was conducted smoothly, but that the day was marked by numerous procedural deficiencies, including the inconsistent application of safeguards during voting and counting, frequent instances of overcrowding, breaches of voting secrecy and numerous instances of group voting, and was dominated by the decisive involvement of President Vučić together with the ruling party’s systemic advantages; expresses its serious concern over these irregularities and the overall election environment, which fell below the standards expected of an EU candidate country; reminds the Serbian authorities that the proper functioning of Serbia’s democratic institutions is at the core of Serbia’s EU accession process and the EU accession methodology; calls for an independent international investigation by respected international legal experts and institutions into the irregularities of the parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections, with special attention to the elections to the Belgrade City Assembly, as certain allegations, including those regarding organised voter migration at local level, go beyond the scope covered by the OSCE/ODIHR reports;

22. Amendment 46Adopted

    Recital H b (new)

    Tabled by Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Thijs Reuten · S&D

    Added: Hb. whereas the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel have highlighted the volatile and dynamic security situation in the Middle East and the need for the EU and other international actors to assume greater responsibility and assist governments and civil society organisations of the region with reaching a durable and sustainable peace, in particular by continuing to support a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine; whereas on 7 October 2023, 1 139 Israelis and foreign citizens were killed and 240 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ despicable terrorist attack; whereas tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians and hundreds of UN staff, medical personnel and journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli Government’s response; whereas the continuous bombardment and forced evacuation of Palestinians to the south of the Gaza Strip have created a dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation; whereas attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 330 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October 2023; whereas the International Court of Justice has, in its interim ruling, ordered Israel to implement provisional measures in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel);

23. Amendment 46Adopted

    Recital H b (new)

    Tabled by Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Thijs Reuten · S&D

    Added: Hb. whereas the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel have highlighted the volatile and dynamic security situation in the Middle East and the need for the EU and other international actors to assume greater responsibility and assist governments and civil society organisations of the region with reaching a durable and sustainable peace, in particular by continuing to support a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine; whereas on 7 October 2023, 1 139 Israelis and foreign citizens were killed and 240 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ despicable terrorist attack; whereas tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians and hundreds of UN staff, medical personnel and journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli Government’s response; whereas the continuous bombardment and forced evacuation of Palestinians to the south of the Gaza Strip have created a dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation; whereas attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 330 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October 2023; whereas the International Court of Justice has, in its interim ruling, ordered Israel to implement provisional measures in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel);

24. Amendment 47Adopted

    Paragraph 89

    Tabled by Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Thijs Reuten · S&D

    … EU strategy for contributing to stability and peace in the Middle East; Added: takes note with concern of the recent allegations made by Israel against 12 staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); welcomes the UN’s immediate and determined response to the allegations, including the immediate dismissal of the employees in question and the launching of two separate investigations into the matter by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the independent review group led by former French Minister Catherine Colonna and three European organisations; calls on Israel, in this regard, to cooperate closely and provide all necessary evidence to the OIOS and the independent review group; welcomes the Commission’s decision not to suspend funding to UNRWA before the UN has announced the outcome of the investigations and the actions it will take; urges all donor countries which have suspended their funding to UNRWA owing to the allegations to reconsider their decision in the light of UNRWA’s immediate response to the allegations and its crucial role of delivering life-saving assistance to the two million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amid one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world;

25. Amendment 47Adopted

    Paragraph 89

    Tabled by Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Thijs Reuten · S&D

    … EU strategy for contributing to stability and peace in the Middle East; Added: takes note with concern of the recent allegations made by Israel against 12 staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); welcomes the UN’s immediate and determined response to the allegations, including the immediate dismissal of the employees in question and the launching of two separate investigations into the matter by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the independent review group led by former French Minister Catherine Colonna and three European organisations; calls on Israel, in this regard, to cooperate closely and provide all necessary evidence to the OIOS and the independent review group; welcomes the Commission’s decision not to suspend funding to UNRWA before the UN has announced the outcome of the investigations and the actions it will take; urges all donor countries which have suspended their funding to UNRWA owing to the allegations to reconsider their decision in the light of UNRWA’s immediate response to the allegations and its crucial role of delivering life-saving assistance to the two million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amid one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world;

26. Amendment 96Adopted

    Recital I

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    I. whereas there is an urgent need to Removed: operationalise the strategic autonomy Added: enhance the capabilities of the EU and its Member States, including in the field of defence policy, which will allow the Union to Added: better defend its interests without undue reliance on third states, Added: but in close cooperation with its allies, promote its values and strengthen its contribution to global multilateralism, the peaceful …

27. Amendment 100Rejected

    Paragraph 4 – point b

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    (b) progressively adapting EU structures, instruments, capabilities, funds and decision-making procedures, Added: based on a thorough review of previous erroneous policies, while maintaining unanimity in the areas of CFSP and CSDP,

28. Amendment 101Rejected

    Paragraph 9

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    … of its neighbourhood policy and accelerate the enlargement process in parallel with Removed: the institutional and decision-making reforms necessary to safeguard the Union’s integration capacity; Added: underlines that EU enlargement cannot be held hostage by the false pretext of imposing qualified majority voting;

29. Amendment 105Rejected

    Paragraph 19

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    … a precondition for the credibility and effectiveness of the EU’s external action; Added: expresses its concern, in this regard, that some Member States do not react properly even in the most severe cases of breaches of EU sanctions, such as those committed by Siemens and companies involved in the construction of the Kerch bridge, which still go unpunished; calls on all third countries, and in particular EU candidate countries, to …

30. Amendment 110Rejected

    Paragraph 27 – point a

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    Removed: (a) the introduction of qualified majority voting in identified priority areas, such as the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act), and on issues pertaining to the adoption and implementation of the next EU action plan on human rights and democracy, in line with Article 22(1) TEU; Added: deleted

31. Amendment 111Rejected

    Paragraph 27 – point b

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    Removed: (b) the application of the passerelle clauses provided for in the Treaties, except for the creation of military missions or operations with an executive mandate under the common security and defence policy (CSDP), for which unanimity will still be required; Added: deleted

32. Amendment 114Rejected

    Paragraph 27 – point e

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    Removed: (e) the revision of the Treaties as provided for in Article 48 TEU, with the objective of, inter alia, enshrining qualified majority voting for matters relating to the CFSP; Added: deleted

33. Amendment 116Adopted

    Paragraph 66

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    … the implementation of parliamentary oversight and addressing political polarisation, de-oligarchisation and anti-corruption; Added: reiterates its calls to release former president Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds and encourages President Salome Zourabichvili to use her constitutional right to pardon him, which would contribute to reducing the political polarisation in the country; underlines the Georgian people’s legitimate European aspirations and accordingly stresses the importance …

34. Amendment 120Rejected

    Paragraph 87

    Tabled by Anna Fotyga · ECR

    … % purity and its repeated violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Removed: Action (JCPOA); encourages the resumption of negotiations on the JCPOA Treaty; Added: Action;

35. Amendment 125Rejected

    Paragraph 118

    Tabled by Benoît Biteau, Damien Carême, François Alfonsi +34 · Members

    … multilateral global order, international law and respect for democracy and human rights; Removed: welcomes the conclusion of Added: requests that the negotiations on the Removed: EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement and calls for progress to be made towards the signing and ratification of the EU-Mexico Association Agreement; calls on the Commission and the Spanish and Belgian Council Presidencies to advance decisively and conclude the agreement with Mercosur before the end of the current parliamentary term, while keeping the highest level of ambition in relation to the enforcement of its sustainability provisions; also recalls the need to finalise the ratification of the EU-Central America Association Agreement; Added: EU-Mercosur agreement be halted, as this agreement will expose European farmers to unfair competition from products with lower environmental and social standards, undermining the necessary conditions to implement the Green Deal in the agricultural sector;