mandate that I will address the Parliament for the annual Article 36
debate, which covers Common Foreign and Security Policy and of course
Common
Security and Defence Policy. So as well as looking, as the requirement
is, at “the main aspects and basic choices” of the last twelve months I
wanted to take the opportunity in my remarks, to reflect a little on
what we have achieved and built in the last four years and perhaps
something about what we might aim for in the next mandate. I know that I
can't cover all of the different aspects of foreign policy issues in
one speech, so I'm going to take my original priorities as a framework
and talk about those, while reflecting too on the European Council's
discussions in December on Common Security and Defence Policy.
Looking
back four years ago I set three priorities: we had to establish a
European External Action Service; we had to focus on the Neighbourhood –
both South and East as the places where, if you like, European action
should be judged; and in our Strategic Partnerships. I did this because
we had to create some structure to what was by definition a new and
undefined role. The Lisbon arrangements for external policy, as
Honourable Members know very well, was conceived in better economic
times: so my job was to turn those aspirations into reality in the midst
of the worst economic crisis the EU had ever faced.
The merger
of three jobs into one required some strategic focus – my reasoning was
to try and deal with the tasks that had been clearly defined within the
Treaties. And I think together, and I do mean together because I
acknowledge very much the role of this Parliament, we have made some
achievements. We do have a European External Action Service. We do have
strong relationships and a clear role in our Neighbourhood and we have
deep political strategic relationships with key international partners.
We have in other words in place the core components for a comprehensive
and coherent EU external policy.
For my part, I can say that my
successor will inherit a fully functioning External Action Service. We
have 140 Delegations across the world and 1800 full time staff. All that
has been achieved by bringing together existing resources within
difficult but important budgetary constraints. I confess that in an
ideal world I would like to see us represented worldwide. I would want
to see us bid to open new delegations particularly in Panama, in Gulf
countries where we're not represented and in Mongolia. But there are
other places too.
I am also proud that we have reached the
staffing targets that were set for the Service. I was asked to create a
Service where we had one third of national diplomats and that meant of
course at least two thirds permanent officials. I have dramatically
improved the number of female Heads of Delegation from the frankly
abysmal level I inherited. It's now one in five, 20%. It's still not
enough and there are still far fewer female candidates applying for jobs
than their male counterparts. But when they do apply do well.
Not
everything is complete and there is still plenty of work for my
successor to do. I made a series of recommendations in last summer’s
EEAS Review many of which I know were shared by this Parliament.
I
hope that some of these will be implemented in the transition or near
to the start of the next mandate: because the EU external service is
more than the sum total of its parts. It is a genuine asset whose
professionalism and expertise is widely respected around the world. And I
am very proud to have played a part in establishing it.
The
second priority I identified was the Neighbourhood both East and South.
And there is no question that in these last four years our neighbourhood
policy has been tested as never before first in the events that
happened in what has become known as the Arab Spring or Arab awakening
in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria and of course most recently in the
events in the East with Ukraine.
But let me say something about
some of these areas of work that we've been engaged in. When you think
about our Eastern Neighbourhood, we showed the real possibilities of
what EU diplomacy could do in helping to resolve the long standing
issues between Serbia and Kosovo. From the beginning of this Dialogue I
have facilitated 23 rounds of negotiation, total of 230 hours. I give
all credit to the courageous leaders on both sides. In concrete terms,
we have seen the successful holding of local elections across the whole
of Kosovo, and the integration of security and justice structures into
the Kosovo legal framework.
This step forward has allowed the EU
to respond by opening accession negotiations with Serbia, and by
launching Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations with
Kosovo.
The dialogue will become more and more part of both
parties integration paths. I, and the European Union, remain fully
committed and engaged in that process the latest discussions of which
took place only this week on Monday when the Prime Ministers and Deputy
Prime Ministers and Justice Ministers came back together to finalize
some of their discussions. I really hope that what has been achieved
between Pristina and Belgrade will serve as inspiration and give
momentum to others in the Western Balkans. It will be particularly
important to help Bosnia and Herzegovina embark on a similar journey,
and my recent visit there received the same message I'm giving now.
The
Eastern Neighbourhood has also seen the combination of economic and
political challenges. The Stabilisation and Association Agreements with
Moldova and Georgia are near to being signed. The prospect of signing
the Agreement with Ukraine, everyone knows, triggered a series of events
that means today we are facing the most tense and difficult situation
in our neighbourhood since the end of the Cold War.
Honourable
Members, it has been only four months since people took to the square of
Maidan, to express their disappointment in commitments made and broken
by their President. I visited Maidan, I met with the people. Many
members of this house also did. The events that have unfolded have
raised challenges for the European Union and its Member States, I would
argue, for years to come. Our first priority continues to be to work to
de-escalate the situation and to call upon Russia to take clear steps in
that respect.
We've been clear about Russia's violation of Ukraine's
sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is just unacceptable. Russia
has contravened the international law, and its own international
commitments.
We will not recognise the annexation of Crimea or
the referendum that took place there as legitimate. Honourable Members,
you will have seen that the UN General Assembly has also agreed on a
resolution calling the Moscow-backed referendum that led to this
annexation illegal.
Together with our colleagues and Member
States we will continue to engage and use all diplomatic and political
means to stabilise the situation and to arrive at a negotiated way
through. It is important not to underestimate our economic strength and
the potential of our economic response. But in addition, I want to focus
on three key issues of our response to this crisis:
First, the
solution is political but also economic. We will only succeed if we act
at the same time on the needs of the short term and the objectives of
the long term. The top priority is to support Ukraine to be a viable
economic and democratic state, that can respond to the aspirations of
its people. In order to support that, in my role as Vice President of
the Commission, I convened a meeting of Commissioners and Cabinets
bringing together both the Presidents of the Commission and of the
Council to begin drawing a comprehensive EU response.
Honourable
Members, you will have seen that Commissioners Füle and Lewandowski led a
high level visit to Kyiv last week as part of this overall strategy.
And that is to allow us to translate the promise of support into
concrete practical action for urgently needed reforms after the
signature of the political provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association
Agreement.
We have welcomed the $15 billion IMF rescue package
and the staff level agreement on an IMF Stand-By Arrangement agreed on
27 March. Following last Tuesday's presentation in the INTA Committee,
we will be able to start implementing our overall support of 1.6 billion
euro this month, with significant disbursements hopefully before the
Ukrainian presidential elections on 25 May. But I stress again the
urgency and importance of supporting the economy of Ukraine to enable it
to fulfil the aspirations of its people.
In the meantime, with
the support of the European Parliament today, we will front-load, by the
end of this month, the trade benefits of the agreement and temporarily
remove customs duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU.
The second
issue is about the role of the Rada, the Parliament, and the importance
of the democratic process. I, like so many Members of this house,
commend the measured response shown by Ukraine throughout this crisis.
The Rada has worked, voted, decided and led, and I've sat in the Rada
and seen the way that Parliamentarians tried throughout to work on the
issues of concern. As you will have seen, the Party of the Regions still
exists and has chosen to be in opposition, but in my discussion with
them they have pointed out that they don't oppose the democratic process
that will lead to the presidential elections.
Third, as I have
made clear to our Russian counterparts many times, our relations with
our Eastern partners are not exclusive. These countries must be allowed
to decide their own future and for all of them, it is about good
relations with their own neighbours as well.
If I turn to the
Southern Neighbourhood I would say it has been no less challenging.
Following the Arab awakening we have played a key role in supporting
Tunisia on the road to a stable and democratic future. It is a real
success story, has huge potential and we will continue to work
tirelessly – as we do with other nations of the region. Particularly at
the moment in Egypt where we have a strong relationship with the people
of Egypt and you know the particular role that the EU has played and I
have played especially when you think of the events last summer and my
visit to the then former president Morsi. I will surely be returning to
Egypt as it prepares for presidential elections.
I don’t have to
tell Honourable Members what concern we felt that the court in Minya in
southern Egypt sentenced 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death. I
have made this perfectly clear to Egyptians this week and to the
Egyptian Foreign Minister that we need to make sure and we call upon the
interim authorities in line with international standards they need to
make sure there is a right to a fair and timely trial based on clear
charges and proper and independent investigations as well as the right
to access and contact to lawyers and family members. I also take the
opportunity to condemn the bombings that took place in Egypt yesterday
and we have sent our condolences to those that were affected. It is
really important that Egypt moves to stabilise in an inclusive society
that will enable it to move forward and these are the clear messages
that we will continue to give.
Again, I don’t have to tell
honourable members how worrying the situation is in Libya and I have met
with some representatives in Libya yesterday who were here for the
EU-Africa Summit. The knock-off effects of the civil war of course is
fuelling the crisis in Mali. We need to try and again deliver support to
the Libyan authorities to allow them to cement their democracy and
create the functioning state. We cannot allow terrorists again a
foothold in that territory. That is why I will shortly be appointing a
personal special envoy to engage specifically with the Libyan
authorities and to focus again on bringing international attention and
bringing international actors together to try and support the needs of
the Libya people.
The situation in Syria of course remains
terrible. The failure of international cohesion has prevented serious
pressure being brought to bear on Assad to bring the conflict to an end.
We continue to remain determined to support the efforts of the UN. In
my discussions with Secretary General Ban Ki Moon yesterday we talked
about the continuing support to try and get to a political solution. We
continue to support the difficult work of Lakdar Brahimi. I share with
him the appeal to the parties to return to the negotiating table.
We
must continue to urge dialogue and to highlight the deteriorating
humanitarian situation. The plight of 9.3 million vulnerable Syrians
remains terrible. The risk of regional instability – in particular
impacts Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq – and the growth of terrorist and
extremist groups such as Al-Qaida. This is an ever present problem. We
will carry on our work and will provide humanitarian assistance – it
currently stands at 2.6 billion Euro and we will continue to press all
parties to allow unhindered access of humanitarian aid. And in our
discussions with all countries who have something to do with tis or a
role to play in this we will continue to push for that.
Coming
back to the priorities that I began with, let me turn to our strategic
partners. These are at the core of the work that we do. All challenges
that we face internationally when you think about peace and security,
that all requires to meet them by joining forces and cooperating closely
with international, regional and local partners. We are unique in
foreign policy terms. I don’t just say this but you can hear this said
across the world because we bring together economic, diplomatic,
development and military assets in support of a comprehensive approach
to complex crises. This approach did not exist 4 years ago and it exists
now. And that increasingly makes us the partner of choice.
Foremost
amongst those strategic partnerships is the one we have built with the
UN. We work closely on all major crises. It is on behalf of the UN
Security Council that I lead the E3+3 Iran nuclear negotiations.
Honourable members will know after the successful agreement on the
Geneva Joint Plan of Action last November, implementation began on 20th
January. We are now working towards a comprehensive and final
settlement. After the weekend Gymnich meeting I will travel to Vienna
for a further round of our talks. All relevant issues that need to be
addressed in the final agreement have been put on the table. And as
Honourable Members will know, we have experts also meet regularly to
examine technical details.
Honourable members also know that I
can say little about this process at this very delicate stage. But our
strength and credibility derives from the unity of the E3+3, from the
support of all European Member States especially those who are directly
engaged to whom I pay tribute as well as the international community as a
whole. This is a subject most talked about in my travels across the
world and with whom we engaged so many other countries who have an
interest and a stake in the outcome but I want to thank this house for
your continuous support to me in the negotiations that I've taken over
the last three and a half years.
I think too the EU/US Summit
last week was an opportunity to reaffirm our strong partnership with
the United States. Our cooperation is unparalleled because of its depth
and breadth. We work closely together across the entire spectrum of
foreign policy issues especially Ukraine, Afghanistan and on the Middle
East where we continue to fully support the ongoing efforts by US
Secretary of State Kerry, who was with us yesterday for the EU-US Energy
Council which he and I jointly chair. We stand ready in the Middle East
to support and to make an unprecedented package of support to the
parties in the context of a final status agreement. And I pay tribute to
all Member States who work so closely to ensure that what we will be
able to offer will really and significantly make a difference. It will
help in post-settlement arrangements to ensure that this can go forward
for both and this is of an enormous importance.
We also saw in
the last few days the EU/China relationship recognised in the visit by
the Chinese President. The first ever visit of a Chinese President to
the EU and our discussions showed the importance which China attaches to
developing relations with Europe as part of a multipolar world. We have
differences but we share many common concerns not only economically but
also as regards issues of peace and security. And again, China is part
of the team that I lead with the Iran nuclear negotiations.
But
we also, after my discussions with the Defence Secretary Chang last
year, held a joint naval exercise off the Gulf of Somalia as part of the
international efforts that we have to combat piracy at sea. This is a
really important case in point because this exercise enables us to
collaborate. It was led by Operation ATALANTA, out of Northwood, in the
UK, and it was led by the Chinese. Together we looked at ways of
collaborating further on what is a successful enterprise to try and end
piracy but still an exercise that will need to be ongoing – especially
when we think about the consequences not just in the Horn of Africa but
also what is happening in the Gulf of Guinea.
And the other
evening here I held a meeting to discuss with key African countries,
with our military staff on how we can now support them further, as they
consider how to not only deal with piracy at sea, but also to again
collaborate on a comprehensive approach to dealing with the causes of
piracy on land.
I do want to turn for a moment to our issues of
security and defence. Because I think the situation in Ukraine has cast
fresh light on this. In my final report ahead of the December 2013
European Council on Security and Defence I said that “the peace and
security of Europe has always been a prerequisite for its economic
welfare; for the EU to live up to its role as security provider means
that European citizens and the international community need to be able
to trust and rely on the EU to deliver when the situation demands. We
must move from discussion to delivery.”
Honourable Members, this
was never more true. The question of how to square the circle of the
spiralling cost of complex military systems with the reduction of
budgets is best answered through cooperation. The European Commission
also has its role to play: we must reverse the trend of fragmentation
and move towards consolidation and increased competitiveness of the
Defence Equipment Market. The European Council, all Member States,
endorsed defence cooperation and I think we now must move further and
faster. The maxim of “pool it or lose it” has never been truer. We have
to deliver. So I will be using the upcoming Defence Ministerial Meeting,
where I will also be joined by Secretary General Rasmussen of NATO as
he usually joins us, to talk about how we can now best use cooperation
to ensure that we are able deliver for all Member States their defence
needs in what I believe are circumstances that many will see have
changed. This renewed sense of urgency has the backing of the European
Council to actually help us implement this, which I think is going to be
extremely important.
One of the elements specifically mentioned
in that Council was making CSDP more efficient and effective, and that
is the Comprehensive Approach. Mr Danjean's report correctly stresses
the importance of effective coordination and coherence in external
action. That's been what I've been trying to do since the day I took
office.
In conclusion: the last year was one I hope of delivery
for our CFSP and one where the groundwork that we sought to lay in terms
of building the Service, building our relationships and building trust
and credibility has begun to deliver results. It was also a year when
the full potential of what we could do began to emerge. I am delighted
that I will be handing over to the next High Representative a Service on
which they can build, relationships on which they can build and the
strength and support of this Parliament. I thank you for it and I am
sure you will offer the same level of support to the next High
Representative that you have offered to me.
Thank you.”
