Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Every year, the Committee on Foreign Affairs drafts a resolution on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as a response to the report of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Policy to the European Parliament on the Common Foreign and Security Policy. This resolution assesses the implementation of the CFSP and is a key component of the European Parliament’s contribution to EU external action, most notably with regard to the strengthened right of scrutiny conferred to the European Parliament by the Treaty of Lisbon.

The 2024 report is the first resolution on the implementation of the CFSP in this legislature. As such, it should also act as a guide for the priorities of a new Commission and High Representative. The report first reviews the VP/HR’s annual CFSP report and subsequently complements it with Parliament’s positions on the CFSP objectives in 2025. Here, the Rapporteur has chosen to focus on the strategic trends that define the overall orientation of the EU’s common foreign and security policy and which have exacerbated the necessity for the EU to define its interests and deploy the capabilities to pursue them. These include:

1. the consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine,

2. conflict and supporting peace in the Middle East,

3. cooperation with like-minded partners, and

4. the visibility of the EU’s action abroad

The report develops each of these points in more detail, providing guidance for the future EU executives when defining the CFSP. Parliament’s forward looking CFSP posture is finally underlined by key demands concerning the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the parliamentary oversight thereof.