Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) - European Parliament

DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulations (EU) 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, 2018/1724 and (EU)
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Miriam Lexmann

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Members of the AFET Committee will meet on Wednesday 24 May 2003 - 9.00-12.30 and 14.00-18.00 and
Thursday 25 May 2003 - 9.00-11.00 and 11.00-12.30 (ANTALL 4Q2)

Debates:

• Recent developments in the Lachin corridor and the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
• New developments in the Gulf and the Middle East region
• Geopolitical dialogue on the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III)
• Situation in Tunisia
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead of the elections in 2023
• Public Hearing on the EU and Latin America relations
• Public hearing on the Implementation report on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
• Presentation of the Study on African Union

Votes:

• 2022 Report on North Macedonia
• 2022 Report on Albania
• Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Thailand
• Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Government of Malaysia
• The protection of journalists around the world and the European Union's policy on the matter
  

The meeting will be webstreamed.

AFET-SEDE-DROI meetings 2023
Meeting documents
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members will travel to Washington D.C. and Wisconsin, U.S. from 15 to 19 May. The main goal of the mission will be to establish and deepen the political dialogue with the US administration and meet counterparts in Congress, following the US mid-term elections.
Members will hold meetings with Government and Congress representatives in Washington D.C. The visit to Wisconsin, a swing and bellwether State, will provide AFET members with an in-depth look into grass-roots America from a transatlantic perspective. On top of meeting the political authorities and institutions of the State of Wisconsin, Members will also meet management and students form the Jean Monnet Programme on European and Global studies at the University of Madison - Wisconsin.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted three resolutions on the respect for human rights in Algeria, Belarus and Myanmar.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Parliament stresses normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina is a priority and a precondition for the EU accession of both countries.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

DRAFT REPORT on relations with Belarus
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Petras Auštrevičius

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 22 March 2023, the Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the situation in the Taiwan Strait. The hearing focused both on domestic developments in Taiwan and on China’s policy towards Taiwan following the 20th CCP Congress in October 2022.
The key role of the US, as well as regional actors like Japan was also addressed, as well as the implications for EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy and security. Members debated with the invited experts from the US German Marshall Fund, Mercator Institute for China Studies and Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique the continuing trend of increases in breaches of Taiwan's defence zone. They also expressed support for a bilateral EU-Taiwan investment agreement and to attracting semiconductor investments into the EU. Experts encouraged continuing the EU-US and the G7 coordination, to develop the EU's own contingency approach and to deter China.
Draft Programme
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AMENDMENTS 1 - 182 - Draft report Uzbekistan
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ilhan Kyuchyuk

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

AMENDMENTS 39 - 217 - Draft opinion Prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Salima Yenbou

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members will travel to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat, and to Hanoi in Vietnam from 20 to 24 February. The main goal of the mission is to contribute to furthering the EU-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, in particular cooperation between the parliaments, and to enhancing bilateral relations with EU’s major partners in the region.
Members will hold meetings with government and parliament officials in Indonesia and in Vietnam to discuss global and regional security issues as well as to follow-up on the EU-ASEAN Summit of 14 December 2022 and the own-initiative-report of June 2022 on the 'EU and the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific'. Members will also pursue dialogue with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Indonesia is chairing in 2023.
Location : Jakarta and Hanoi
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members travelled to Banjul in The Gambia and to Dakar in Senegal from 3 to 7 April. The main goal of the mission was to contribute to further strengthening the partnerships with these countries. Members met with government and parliament officials as well as with representative of civil society to discuss global and regional security issues.
The visit to Senegal presented a timely opportunity to closely engage with a historical partner and symbol of stability in West Africa. The visit to the Gambia enabled MEPs to better understand the opportunities and shortcomings the Gambia faces in its democratic consolidation and reinforce the EU support for important reforms, as a prerequisite for the future development of the country.
Location : Banjul (The Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal)
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members will travel to Washington D.C. and Wisconsin, US from 15 to 19 May. The main goal of the mission will be to establish and deepen the political dialogue with the US administration and meet counterparts in Congress, following the US mid-term elections.
Members will hold meetings with Government and Congress representatives in Washington D.C. The visit to Wisconsin, a swing and bellwether State, will provide AFET members with an in-depth look into grass-roots America from a transatlantic perspective. On top of meeting the political authorities and institutions of the State of Wisconsin, Members will also meet management and students form the Jean Monnet Programme on European and Global studies at the University of Madison - Wisconsin.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

As the first EU act specifically regulating the EU's CRM supply, the proposed initiative aims to address an area previously identified as one of the EU's strategic dependencies. Following a clear problem description, the IA presents three (partially overlapping) policy options and a thorough analysis of their possible impacts, with a clear focus on economic impacts. The identification of the preferred policy option appears justified. The predominantly qualitative assessment draws merely on desk research and stakeholder input. In this respect, the IA admits to having 'significant data gaps' and a 'limited' evidence base, owing in part to 'the lack of a supporting study'. With regard to stakeholder input, the IA does not explain why the public consultation was open for only 8 weeks (instead of the default 12). It is notable that the proposed regulation deviates somewhat in scope from the IA: it adds a further specific objective – namely to diversify CRM imports in order to reduce strategic dependencies – and provides for a few measures that were either not assessed at all in the IA, or which were outside the preferred policy option.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP