Ausschuss für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten (AFET) - Europäisches Parlament

The award ceremony for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, conferred to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran, will be held on 12 December at 11.30.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Members of the AFET Committee will meet on Monday 4 and Thursday 7 December 2023 in Brussels.


Meetings are webstreamed with the exception of items held "in camera".
AFET-SEDE-DROI calendar of meetings 2024
AFET-SEDE-DROI calendar of meetings 2023
Meeting documents
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET members travelled to Japan and Taiwan from 24 to 27 July 2023. This mission contributed to strengthening the cooperation with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The AFET visit to Japan and Taiwan allowed discussing the regional dimension and further geopolitical developments in both the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea region.
Location : Japan and Taiwan
Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs travel to Taiwan for first-ever visit
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members travelled to Santiago and Valparaíso (Chile) and Brasília (Brazil) from 18 to 23 June 2023. The main goal of this mission was to discuss how to make a qualitative leap in the EU-Latin America strategic bi-regional partnership in view of the CELAC-EU Summit on 17-18 July 2023.
Members held meetings with Chilean and Brazilian authorities to discuss global and regional security dynamics against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the assertive behaviour of China. The visit allowed to exchange views on the state of bilateral relations in view of the forthcoming ratification of the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement by the European Parliament and reinvigorating the strategic partnership with Brazil.
Location : Chile and Brazil
European Parliament News
     Foreign Affairs Committee delegation ends visit to Brazil
     Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs conclude visit to Chile
Interviews by the Chair of the delegation, Mr David MCALLISTER (EPP)
     La Tercera (Chile)
     Globo (Brazil)
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members travelled to Mexico and Costa Rica from 31 October to 2 November 2023 to discuss bilateral cooperation and ongoing geopolitical challenges. During their visit Members met with parliamentary counterparts, government representatives of both countries and non-governmental organisations.

In Mexico, they discussed joint efforts to boost the EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership, ongoing work to conclude the modernised Global Agreement between the EU and Mexico and security and migration crises. In Costa Rica the focus of discussions was on the EU-Costa Rica bilateral and multilateral cooperation, geopolitical, security and migration challenges, Costa Rica's region role in Central America, the EU's Global Gateway initiative, and parliamentary ties.

Location : Mexico and Costa Rica
European Parliament News
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 27 November, the Foreign Affairs Committee in association with the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly will exchange views with Francisco Coy-Granados, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia.
Members will have an opportunity to discuss the geopolitical and regional dynamics, the bi-regional EU-CELAC Strategic Partnership, how to further the EU-Colombia relations and the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia amid its 7th anniversary.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 27 November 2023, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on “EU sanctions regime - implementation, expansion, efficiency and deterring impact”. Sanctions have become a prominent foreign policy tool for both governments and international organisations, including the EU.
The efficiency of sanctions and their aptness to achieve the purported goal to change the behaviour of the addressees is, however, often put into question. The hearing will allow MEPs to discuss with experts and assess the EU sanction regimes currently in place with a view to their improvement and strengthening. A study on the 'Implementation and monitoring of EU sanctions regimes' will also be presented on this occasion.
Programme and background documents
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 28 November 2023 (11.15-12.00), the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a presentation of a study on the EU's emerging policy for Antarctica. The paper argues in favour of a more coherent EU-wide policy for Antarctica, taking into account geopolitics, ocean conservation, and environmental protection. As shifting dynamics transform Antarctica’s status as a pole of peace, the EU needs to step up its role in addressing the challenges posed to the Antarctic Treaty System.
Link to the study
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On Wednesday, 8 November Commissioner Várhelyi will present the 2023 Enlargement package to Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. For the first time, the Commission will assess the reform work of two new EU candidate countries, Ukraine and Moldova, and potential candidate Georgia. Members will quiz Oliver Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on the future of the EU’s enlargement policy and the state of play in the countries concerned.
Commissioner Várhelyi will also present Commission's new EUR 6 billion Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. It will propose an additional support and enhanced integration to countries advancing on the EU-related reforms.
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members travelled to Mexico and Costa Rica from 31 October to 2 November 2023 to discuss bilateral cooperation and ongoing geopolitical challenges. During their visit Members met with parliamentary counterparts, government representatives of both countries and non-governmental organisations.
In Mexico, they discussed joint efforts to boost the EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership, ongoing work to conclude the modernised Global Agreement between the EU and Mexico and security and migration crises. In Costa Rica the focus of discussions was the EU-Costa Rica bilateral and multilateral cooperation, geopolitical, security and migration challenges, Costa Rica's region role in Central America, the EU's Global Gateway initiative, and parliamentary ties.
Press Release
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 481 - Draft report Deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Petras Auštrevičius, Pedro Silva Pereira

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 27 November, the Foreign Affairs Committee in association with the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly will exchange views with Francisco Coy-Granados, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia.
Members will have an opportunity to discuss the geopolitical and regional dynamics, the bi-regional EU-CELAC Strategic Partnership, how to further the EU-Colombia relations and the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia amid its 7th anniversary.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

DRAFT OPINION on 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU - Commission
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Katalin Cseh

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET Members traveled to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat, and to Hanoi in Vietnam from 20 to 24 February 2023. The main goal of the mission was 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 held 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 also pursued 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 traveled to the UK from 18 to 19 September 2023. This was the first time that the committee traveled to the UK since 31 January 2020 when the United Kingdom officially left the EU. The AFET delegation discussed possibilities for strengthened partnership and deepening dialogue on issues of importance in relevant areas of bilateral cooperation, including in foreign and security affairs.
This visit was also be opportunity to exchange views on issues of significance to Northern Ireland, particularly in the context of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol and the Windsor Framework.
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET members traveled to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from 21 to 25 August 2023. The AFET delegation discussed the regional developments and the potential for closer cooperation in the current challenging geopolitical context, including the impact of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the introduction of EU sanctions on Russia.
Location : Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET members traveled to Japan and Taiwan from 24 to 27 July 2023. This mission contributed to strengthening the cooperation with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The AFET visit to Japan and Taiwan allowed discussing the regional dimension and further geopolitical developments in both the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea region.
Location : Japan and Taiwan
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 377 - Draft report EU-Russia political relations
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Andrius Kubilius

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Members of the AFET Committee will meet on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 November 2023 in SPAAK 3C50, Brussels

Votes:

• Implementation of the common foreign and security policy - annual report 2023 (2023/2117(INI))
• Implementation of the common security and defence policy - annual report 2023 (2023/2119(INI))
• Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union's policy on the matter - annual report 2023 (2023/2118(INI))
• Role of the European Parliament and its parliamentary diplomacy in the EU's foreign and security policy (2023/2105(INI))
• Role of preventive diplomacy in tackling frozen conflicts around the world (2023/2050(INI))
• EU strategy on Central Asia (2023/2106(INI))
• Shaping the EU's position on the UN binding instrument on business and human rights (2023/2108(INI))
• Security and defence implications of China's influence on critical infrastructure in the European Union (2023/2072(INI))

Meetings are webstreamed with the exception of items held "in camera".
AFET-SEDE-DROI calendar of meetings 2024
AFET-SEDE-DROI calendar of meetings 2023
Meeting documents
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP