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Annual report on implementation of the common foreign and security policy, 2022
The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) contributes to the EU's objectives of preserving peace; strengthening international security; promoting international cooperation; and developing and consolidating democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 2022 annual report on the implementation of the CFSP adopted by the Committee for Foreign Affairs (AFET) highlights the need for stronger, more ambitious, credible, strategic and unified EU action on the world ...
Tracking the EU Commissioners’ commitments - Von der Leyen Commission, 2019 - 2024: Josep Borrell Fontelles
This briefing follows up the commitments made by the High Representative / Vice President since 2019.
Qualified majority voting in foreign and security policy: Pros and Cons
In her first State of the Union speech, and in the section of the speech most applauded by the European Parliament, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the use of qualified majority voting (QMV) in areas such as sanctions and human rights. The crises and security challenges accumulating in and around the European Union have added to the urgency of having a more effective and rapid decision-making process in areas pertaining to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP ...
Passerelle clauses in the EU Treaties: Opportunities for more flexible supranational decision-making
Passerelle clauses are a mechanism for introducing Treaty change of a very specific nature. They modify the decision-making rules that affect acts of the Council, by allowing a shift from unanimity to qualified majority voting or from a special legislative procedure to the ordinary legislative procedure. This study explores the differences between passerelle clauses and other flexibility measures (enhanced cooperation, the flexibility clause, and accelerator or brake clauses) and explores the main ...
EU’s Institutional Framework regarding Defence Matters
This policy brief provides a short overview of recent initiatives and developments in the EU’s institutional defence architecture, with a particular focus on changes proposed and implemented since 2016. Specifically, it looks at the new Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework, the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the European Defence Fund (EDF), the Military Planning and Conduct Capacity (MPCC), as well as proposals to establish a European Peace Facility (EPF) and to take more ...
Improving the functioning of the EU: Making fuller use of the Lisbon Treaty's provisions
The EU Treaties were last time amended by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009. However, some of its provisions are not (yet) being exploited to the fullest. The own-initiative report on improving the functioning of the EU building on the potential of the Lisbon Treaty aims to identify this potential and ways to better exploit it. The plenary is due to discuss the report, jointly with two related reports, during the February II part-session.
Changed rules for qualified majority voting in the Council of the EU
From 1 November 2014, decisions in the Council of the EU (Council of Ministers) requiring a 'qualified majority' are adopted by means of the new 'double majority'. The change lowers the threshold required for adoption by Council, and is intended to increase the speed and efficiency of Council decision-making and to make it more transparent and legitimate.
Commitments Made at the Hearing of Federica Mogherini - High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Federica Mogherini, the recently-confirmed High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the Commission, appeared before the European Parliament on 6 October 2014 to answer MEPs' questions. In that hearing and in her answers to the questionnaire prepared for the meeting, High Representative /Vice President Mogherini made a number of statements of interest to the European Parliament. This document provides a summary of her most salient points.