Debate on security and defence at the European Parliament: Chastel is giving a presentation of the opportunities of the Lisbon Treaty
An inter-parliamentary meeting was held on 28 September, attended by the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee and sub-committee for Security and Defence as well as representatives of national parliaments.
On behalf of the High Representative Cathy Ashton, Olivier Chastel gave an survey of the opportunities offered by the Lisbon Treaty in relation to the consolidation of European security and defence policy.
The European External Action Service will be operational within a few months. It will combine the European Union’s various foreign policy instruments and departments into a single structure, including those linked to the common security and defence policy. ‘This is a major step forward, and I’m convinced this service will bring a new impetus to our European initiatives; moreover, it will help the Union to shoulder its increasingly-important international responsibilities’, announced Olivier Chastel.
The Secretary of State then emphasised the big challenge of turning the financial crisis to advantage by stepping up co-operation and finding ways of spending more effectively and deploying available resources more judiciously.
In less than ten years, the EU has fielded over twenty crisis management operations, both civil and military. ‘The missions’ work is often backed up by other EU measures, for example diplomatic methods, such as special representatives of the EU or the financing of supplementary measures by the Commission; also, we work in close co-operation with our partners, in particular the United Nations as well as NATO and others besides’ says Olivier Chastel, who cited a few examples, such as its presence in the Western Balkans (Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina) and in Somalia as part of the EUNAVFOR Atalanta operation to deal with the piracy problem. Thus, the European External Action Service will strengthen cohesion between civil and military resources.
‘It's up to you, national and European parliaments, to decide on the form we shall give to inter-parliamentary co-operation within the EU, and in developing a European security and defence culture’ Olivier Chastel asserted, evoking democratic oversight of security and defence policy. He concluded by paying homage to the men and women deployed on behalf of the 27 member states on operations around the world.
Speech by M Olivier Chastel, Secretary of State for European Affairs FR
