Security and Defence Subcommittee (SEDE) - European Parliament

"I condemn in the strongest terms the atrocious terrorist attacks that have taken place in recent weeks, notably in Baghdad, Istanbul, Tel Aviv and most recently in Orlando. I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the innocent victims and I wish a quick recovery to those injured."
"Terrorism cannot be justified by any reason or ideology. We must stand united with all the states affected by acts of terrorism in condemning and combatting it in all its forms. The fight against terrorism should be global and, in the frame of its responsibilities, our subcommittee will remain committed to enhancing international security."
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On 16 June, the former NATO secretary general and the EU high representative Javier Solana will present the main findings of the study on the EU security and defence, which will feed in the future own-initiative report on the EU defence union to be drafted by Urmas Paet (ALDE, EE).
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Draft agenda
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On 15 June, Security and Defence MEPs will hold a workshop on Russian military presence in the Eastern Partnership Countries (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and South Caucasus). Together with the researchers they will debate the effects of this military presence and future perspectives.
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Workshop programme
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Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 15 June, SEDE will hold an exchange of views on the security situation in Ukraine and the reform of the civilian security sector with Kęstutis Lančinskas, Head of Mission of EUAM Ukraine, Kenneth Deane, Director, CPCC, EEAS and Mykola Tochytskyi, Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the EU.
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Draft agenda and meeting documents
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On 16 June, SEDE will hold an exchange of views on the EU-NATO capability development cooperation with Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, and General Denis Mercier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. The NATO-EU Capability Group was established in May 2003 to address common capability shortfalls and to ensure the coherence and mutual reinforcement of NATO and EU capability development efforts such as the Smart Defence and the Pooling and Sharing initiatives.
Further information
draft agenda and meeting documents
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Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) held its Seventh Congress, the first since 1980, from 6 to 9 May 2016. In theory, the Congress is the highest deliberative body of the only governing party of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Congress yielded relatively modest results, with no real breakthrough, apart from establishing the 'defensive' nuclear deterrence concept. Kim Jong-un’s position as North Korea's supreme leader was fully formalised and now seems to be stronger than ever. The Party is likely to gain further power at the expense of the military. Nuclear deterrence is now firmly enshrined in the Party's statutes as well as the country’s constitution. Pyongyang has made clear that no nuclear deal is possible unless the US and its allies accept North Korea as a 'nuclear state'. Despite its propaganda announcements, North Korea is not ready to modernise its sclerotic economy. While some cautious developments cannot be ruled out, the regime's open criticism of the Chinese economic model suggest that any reforms would be limited and very probably inconclusive.
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will take place on Wednesday 15 June, 9:00-12:30 and 15:00-18:30 and Thursday 16 June, 9:00-12:30 in Brussels.

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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, 2016 - EP

Following the impetus by the European Council in December 2013, emphasizing that defence investments are the key to develop, deploy and sustain military capabilities in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy, the European Commission and the European Defence Agency, have worked on establishing a preparatory action on CSDP research. The Commission will present the relevant terms and provide an outlook on the implementation of the preparatory action at SEDE meeting on 30 May 2016.
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Draft agenda and meeting documents
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Emanating from Russia in the east and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the south, the EU has been increasingly hit by destabilising messages amounting – in different forms and to different degrees – to coherent hostile ‘strategic communications’ campaigns, or the processes of infusing communications activities with an agenda or plan to impact the behaviour of a target audience. Both Russia and ISIL have engaged in aggressive messaging and deceptive media campaigns, albeit with distinct narratives, targets and audiences. This paper analyses the ‘what’ and the ‘how’: the respective narratives of each actor, their specificities, their similarities and their differences. The analysis also draws attention to strategic communications efforts undertaken by the EU, which are vectored into defensive (react and respond) and offensive (probe and push) dimensions. This understanding of the present context finally allows for an evaluation of what actions can be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the EU’s own strategic communications.
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On 30 May, SEDE will exchange views with Rear Admiral Waldemar Gluszko, Deputy Director General of the EU Military Staff at the European External Action Service on the Clearing House Mechanism. This Mechanism offers the possibility for the EU to coordinate the provision of military equipment, services and other assets and capabilities coming from Member States, Third States and International Organisations in order to enhance partner countries’ ability to manage crises by themselves.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

A 7 Members-delegation of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, led by SEDE Chair Mrs A. Fotyga is travelling to Georgia on 17-20 May. The main objective of the SEDE mission is to visit the EU Monitoring Mission and scrutinise its activities and main challenges. The programme will also include meetings with Georgian authorities – President and Prime Minister, governmental representatives (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior) and related parliamentary committees.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 21 April, SEDE held a public hearing to address the cyber defence and resilience from the CSDP perspective at the EU level and national levels. How to build the resilience and efficiently protect critical infrastructures? Which are the cyber warfare capabilities in our changing world? Given that cyber security stays high on the European agendas and is one of the Presidency priorities, it will be extremely interesting to gather different experts and hear which their insights are.
Location : Paul-Henri Spaak 5B001
Programme
Programme
Presentation
Presentation by Steve Purser, Head of Core Operations Department, ENISA
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Speech by Jacek Bylica, Principal Adviser and Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, EEAS : [EN]
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On 20 April, SEDE exchanged views with Florence Gaub, EUISS, and Anar Valiyev, ADA University, Baku on how to combat ISIL in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood Countries. The attacks in Paris and Brussels have demonstrated the recklessness and tenacity of the terror organisation "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)". Their jihadist ideology has become the blueprint for aspiring terrorist groups and organisations in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood of the EU.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP