Changes from plenary report to adopted text

1. Recommends that the Council, the Commission and the VP / HR:

(a) acknowledge the strong link between EU internal and external policy and security dimensions and reflect this in their approach to conflict prevention and resolution, and that preventive diplomacy should happen both within and outside of the EU; fully exploit the possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty to strengthen existing coordination mechanisms; acknowledge the need to end the narrow interpretation of security and to start the discussion from a concept that does not neglect factors such as environmental hazards, threat of diseases, hunger, social injustice, disinformation and violence;

(b) place the respect for fundamental, constitutional and human rights, and the safeguarding of civil liberties at the core of internal and external security policy and its preventive diplomacy efforts, as the EU’s ability to act as a global foreign policy player, a reliable international partner, honest broker and a credible security and defence actor rests on its ability to promote these values, while also proactively defining, asserting and defending its European interests in the world;

(c) adapt and regularly update the EU’s conflict prevention and resolution tools to the changing nature of conflicts, including as a result of climate change and consequent disasters, geopolitical instability, environmental hazards, threat of diseases, hunger, social injustice, the rise of new technologies, the global race for raw materials, rising inequalities around the world and food scarcity, while continuously assessing emerging global challenges and effectively promoting peace, stability and security;

(d) enhance their role and meaningful involvement in the processes of conflict prevention and resolution, as well as mediation of the implementation of the EU-brokered ceasefire agreements so as to ensure the efficient functioning of the instruments applied by the EU and to facilitate the tangible progress;

(e) fully use the means at their disposal to prevent conflict, align the EU’s prevention and conflict resolution, further develop the tools in line with its geopolitical agenda and EU values and act as guarantor of the implementation of the EU-mediated ceasefire agreements and an equidistant and values-based mediator during crises and conflict around the world, in view of the fact that the EU is known for its legitimacy, credibility, impartiality and inclusivity; ensure respect for the sovereignty of countries in any act of preventive diplomacy; recall that the EU should play a major diplomatic role in order to put an end to the conflicts around the world;

(f) integrate the EU’s preventive diplomacy tools into structural prevention mechanisms and actions, such as, for instance, political agreements among different actors involved in conflicts, national dialogues for reconciliation, peacebuilding and transitional justice, as well as truth and reconciliation commissions;

(g) integrate cultural heritage into the EU’s overall approach to crisis management, as a cross cutting component of all actions within the EU toolbox for conflicts and crises;

(h) call on the Member States to set aside individual interests in external relations and build joint capacity together in conflict prevention and mediation;

(i) develop a set of clear and practical rules on the EU’s external action and representation by the VP / HR, the President of the Commission and the President of the European Council and ensure the consistency of their mandates; improve the EU’s mediation capacities by promoting political and fact-finding missions, inquiries and investigations;

(j) ensure effective complementarity and a harmonised approach with Parliament and collaborate closely with Parliament’s preventive diplomacy actions, as parliamentary diplomacy and Parliament’s activities in this regard, such as its official missions to non-EU countries and to multilateral forums, contribute to the promotion of human rights, democratic standards and political pluralism worldwide, as well as conflict prevention and peacebuilding; present to Parliament annual assessments on the EU’s activities concerning preventive diplomacy worldwide, as well as reviews of the EU’s conflict Early Warning System when appropriate;

Understanding the local and cultural context

(k) improve the EU’s understanding of local, historical, political, geographical, religious, environmental, minority rights, social and cultural contexts and invest in cultivating the necessary skills among EEAS staff working on and for conflict prevention and resolution, as well as mediation and the implementation of ceasefire agreements and to develop guidance in this regard; improve the understanding and address the root causes of conflict in order to prevent conflict from arising and spreading;

(l) diversify the EU and its Member States’ diplomatic corps to ensure that demographic diversity and the inclusion of minorities benefit the diplomatic process from both empirical and normative perspectives;

(m) tailor state-building assistance to the cultural, historical, local, socio-economic, environmental and political context of the relevant country receiving it and continuously update it in response to conditions on the ground through rigorous and detailed political analysis for a common strategic response; foster open communication and consultation with local stakeholders and all parts of society in the relevant country, in particular civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations, to better understand the local and cultural context, build confidence, encourage people-to-people relations and gather early warning information in affected areas;

(n) call on the European Council and the EEAS to further enhance the EU’s visibility in other non-EU and partner countries and strengthen the EU’s cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations dimension and activities as a relevant instrument for peace, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, as well as for addressing global challenges, and to demonstrate the EU’s added value and advance cooperation and relations with these countries and international partners; use and expand the cultural heritage protection component in conflicts and crises as a factor contributing to the development of peace, reconciliation and mutual understanding, and intercultural dialogue in conflict and post-conflict areas; increase the EU’s support to the creative and artistic sectors of non-EU countries, including assistance on capacity building; promote cultural co-creation between non-EU countries, including by fostering cultural exchanges and residences;

(o) strengthen the gender-responsive approach in its preventive diplomacy activities, with a view to better protecting women’s and girls’ rights and increasing their participation in such activities; ensure gender equality among special representatives and special envoys in line with the policy framework on gender equality, notably the Gender Action Plan III and the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025; effectively implement the EU Strategic Approach to Women, Peace and Security and the Gender Action Plan in order to achieve sustainable and lasting peace and security;

(p) develop and integrate gender-responsive conflict analysis that is sensitive to the local context and recognises the gendered drivers and gendered impact of conflict, into all planning assumptions in order to strengthen preventive efforts and mitigate risks of relapse to conflict;

(q) include women’s participation and gender-responsive indicators in all early warning processes, conflict prevention and early response efforts;

(r) use the full potential of ‘education diplomacy’ as a fundamental instrument within preventive diplomacy, particularly the EU’s Erasmus + programme; develop educational activities within this framework with non-EU countries, including through Erasmus+; promote the adoption in non-EU countries of student exchanges and student visits to sites of historical memory with the aim of promoting intercultural dialogue;

(s) keep track of regional fragmentation and draft regional conflict analyses, with the aim of assessing and preventing transnational threats and interstate tensions, as well as existing or potential spillovers;

EU conflict Early Warning System

(t) ensure that the EU’s conflict Early Warning System is sufficiently proactive, provided with the necessary resources and based on forward-looking, comprehensive and robust analysis of risk factors that frequently correlate with the outburst of violence, as well as management tools that identify, assess and help to prioritise situations at risk of violent conflict;

(u) closely and systematically involve the EU delegations in countries and regions at risk of conflict or dealing with frozen and unresolved conflicts in monitoring the situation on the ground and regularly contributing to the EU conflict Early Warning System; advocate for full and unimpeded humanitarian access and respect for international law when exercising preventive diplomacy in frozen conflicts;

(v) assess the results achieved by the EU conflict Early Warning System and propose adjustments to make it more effective so that it can identify structural risk factors and enable policymakers to develop timely strategic responses to mitigate risks and identify opportunities for conflict prevention;

(w) ensure that this mechanism collaborates closely with the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN), the EEAS Crisis Response Centre and the Satellite Centre owing to the need for a pertinent flow of information in this regard; strengthen the EU INTCEN and the EEAS Crisis Response Centre by increasing their staff, financial resources and capabilities;

(y) constantly improve the security protocols of the services working on intelligence and/or with sensible information;

Role of special representatives and special envoys in preventive diplomacy, their accountability and overview of their results in conflict resolution processes

(z) consider local, cultural and historical backgrounds when appointing special representatives and envoys in order to avoid sparking controversy in conflict regions should the appointment come from a Member State with historical ties to the region concerned that could threaten their perception as honest broker; take into account the crucial importance of these representatives being properly familiarised with and trained in the area they will assess;

(aa) thoroughly assess, including scrutiny in Parliament, the initiatives undertaken by EU special representatives and envoys, as well as their results and how they are contributing to preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution processes or the implementation of EU-brokered ceasefire agreements, where relevant;

(ab) provide regular and thorough assessments on the accountability of the EU special representatives and envoys pursuant to their mandates, and an overview of the initiatives they have undertaken and the results they have achieved in the conflict resolution processes, as well as mediation of the implementation of the EU-brokered ceasefire agreements;

(ac) improve the transparency and parliamentary scrutiny of the work of the EU special representatives and envoys by providing Parliament with regular and detailed reports on their activities and achievements pursuant to their mandates; promote closer relations between EU special representatives and envoys and Parliament in the light of the inter-parliamentary diplomatic efforts;

(ad) ensure that the appointment of EU special representatives, special envoys and ambassadors can only be confirmed after a positive assessment by Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs;

Lessons learnt from EU-mediated conflict resolution and frozen conflicts and EU-brokered ceasefire agreements, as well as frozen and unresolved conflicts

(ae) conduct a study into the lessons learnt from the EU’s prior actions, missed opportunities for preventive diplomacy and its achievements in the process of peaceful conflict resolution, for example, in the Sahel region, West Africa and the Horn of Africa, the Western Balkans, South Caucasus, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Moldova and Ukraine;

(af) prevent, in the future, the possible negative consequences of the premature suspension of EU missions in conflict regions, as well the continuation of highly ineffective missions or those that have the potential to have negative political and security effects;

(ag) expand the preventive diplomacy toolbox of the EU’s civilian and military missions and operations, as well as their capacity and staff training in order to anticipate and react more quickly to developing situations on the ground;

(ah) ensure that the EU assumes a more active role in supporting all stages of the UN-led process on the Cyprus problem, with all appropriate means at its disposal, including through the appointment of an EU envoy, with a view to reaching a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, within the UN framework, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and in line with the principles on which the EU is founded and the acquis;

(ai) draw on the lessons learnt from the lack of progress in the implementation of the EU-brokered ceasefire agreements, including the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement between Russia and Georgia;

(aj) stress the need for the EU to play an active role wherever there are breaches of international humanitarian law;

(ak) ensure a coordinated approach between the EU and its Member States in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, as opposed to what occurred in Afghanistan where they were working in parallel in different regions;

(al) enhance the EU’s ability to rigorously and continuously analyse and predict the political and security situation in crisis regions and adapt the EU’s response to shifting realities on the ground, including by ensuring there is a responsible focal point for conflict analysis in every EU delegation; ensure complementarity between efforts on the ground and diplomatic efforts between governments, representatives and other relevant actors at state level;

(an) expand the mission EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina and strengthen its conflict prevention toolbox; note that it is the most successful EU peacekeeping and peacebuilding mission to date that has maintained stability in the region and contributed to a safe and secure environment in the country;

(ao) set up a mechanism to verify and ensure the implementation of all agreements reached between Serbia and Kosovo so far, and to report to Parliament periodically in order to ensure that further tensions are averted and to provide more effective mediation and facilitation efforts between the parties, including by allocating more resources to the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and making the dialogue process more citizen-oriented, with the goal of overcoming the current stalemate;

(ap) aim to come up with lessons learnt from the failed preventive diplomacy efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan that resulted in Azerbaijan’s military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh and situations similar to the one during and after the 2020 war when, after the OSCE international dialogue framework had failed, the EU’s passive stance was insufficient to prevent the return to violent conflict and left the EU less impactful than other regional actors, such as Russia, Iran and Türkiye, who also continue to exert their influence and diminish that of the EU in the region and prevent the spillover effect in Armenia; respond to the instability in the wider South Caucasus region and strengthen the EU’s diplomatic efforts in the context of the Geneva International Discussions and otherwise, with the aim of ensuring that Russia fulfils its obligations under the EU-brokered ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008, in particular to withdraw its occupying forces from the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia;

(aq) address the root causes of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was further exacerbated by the despicable terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, leading to a counter-attack by Israel, which have both led to thousands of casualties on both sides and the immense suffering of innocent civilians; intensify efforts, in coordination with its partners in the region and the international community, for the negotiated two-state solution in the internationally shared understanding that this offers the best chance for a viable peace settlement, with the aim of ending the recurring violence and enabling people on the Israeli and Palestinian sides to live in security, freedom, dignity and with equal rights; ensure that the EU is seen as mediator and honest broker, upholding international law in order to have a more effective role in the international arena;

(ar) promote the EU’s participation in mediation, peacebuilding and conflict resolution such as in Colombia’s peace process, where the Union’s support focused on addressing the root causes of the conflict, including inequalities and human rights violations, through reconciliation efforts, economic territorial development through rural integration and multilevel political dialogue;