Security and Defence Subcommittee (SEDE) - European Parliament

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

A European Parliament delegation, which travelled to the Republic of Moldova against the backdrop of a worsening security situation in Europe, finalised its visit on Saturday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

There is a general perception in Western countries that the role of values as a foreign policy driver is currently on the decline. This study in the series ‘global trends in external policies’ seeks to contribute to the debate by investigating what is meant by ‘values’, whether their importance is on the wane and, if so, how this manifests itself, and how the European Union (EU) can respond to these trends. The broad concept of values has therefore been split into five categories. Socio-cultural values are implicit drivers of foreign policy. In the case of the EU, these are characterised by diversity. ‘Political values’ is used as a term to describe the fundamental principles of political and public action, defining the relationship between the state and its citizens. For the EU, these are often referred to as the triad of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Economic values characterise the nature of the prevailing economic system in a country. The EU advocates a social market economy. The term ‘Earth values’ refers to the inclusion of environmental considerations in external policies. The EU has become a leader in promoting sustainability. Resulting from the preceding four are ‘international order values’, which characterise the overall international outlook of actors. The EU’s international order value is ‘principled pragmatism’. This study compares the EU’s values with those of four reference countries: the US, Turkey, Russia and China. The US in the West comes closest to many of the EU’s values, but does not overlap completely. Turkey and Russia are in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood and increasingly disagree with the EU on values. Chinese values overlap least with the EU’s values. The study confirms a decline in the influence of the political values preferred by the EU. This decline appears to correspond to a clear West-East spectrum. However, the study also notes an opposite trend of increasing influence of Earth values. For these, a Eurocentric spectrum appears more adequate. For economic values, the definition of trends depends on benchmarks and methodology. The international order notion of ‘principled pragmatism’ has been extended to ‘EU strategic autonomy’. Values are often considered as part of EU strategic autonomy and some policies, such as EU accession or trade policy, incorporate them. A values-based approach to external policies should differentiate according to the partner country and the value category concerned. Whereas cooperation on political values does not appear to be fruitful with certain countries, continued efforts on economic or Earth values may still be possible. The study explores what such a differentiated approach could mean for the four reference countries in the near future. Such an approach should also take into account the differing perceptions of partner countries. Although positive avenues of cooperation on, for example, Earth values are still possible, geopolitical tensions, partly rooted in differing values, are overshadowing this path.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

MEPs from the Foreign Affairs Committee and Security and Defence Subcommittee will visit Moldova from 31 March to 2 April, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 95'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 52'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

On 17 March, the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs jointly with the Subcommittee on Security and Defence held a debate with Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Against the backdrop of Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine, members discussed with the Ukrainian Minister the military situation on the ground and the current needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

They reaffirmed their unwavering support to Ukraine and asked about military implications of the occupation of nuclear plants by the Russians. Members also inquired the Minister about the alleged usage of banned phosphorus bombs and cluster ammunition by Russians as well as the apparent mobilisation of Chechen irregular troops and on the recruitment of Syrian mercenary fighters.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 84'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

MEPs committed to pushing EU governments to do more to help Ukraine against Russia’s aggression, in a debate with the Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 88'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

MEPs call for a more effective EU foreign and security policy and a stronger defence capability to respond to threats, in two reports adopted on Thursday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Ministers outlined the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on Development
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Fisheries
Committee on Regional Development
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

In a debate on EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine, MEPs called for a united response and voiced support for Ukraine.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the President of the European Parliament has established a number of measures to contain the spread of the virus and to safeguard Parliament's core activities. The current precautionary measures do not affect work on legislative priorities.

Core activities are maintained to ensure the smooth running of the institution's legislative, budgetary, and scrutiny functions.

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) will take place on 3 March 2022.

The meeting agenda and documents will be published here.

SEDE meetings' calendar - first half of 2022
EP calendar 2022 revised
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 118'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP