Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added105. Underlines the need for a more detailed budgetary nomenclature in the CFSP budget, as well as for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, which allow the budgetary authority to set policy and geographic priorities in the framework of the annual budgetary procedure;

Added106. Reiterates its call to promote the establishment of a system of automatic and continuous flow of intelligence from Member States to the EEAS on foreign and security issues occurring outside the Union; calls, in this regard, for the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, the EEAS Crisis Response Centre and the EU Satellite Centre to be strengthened by enhancing their staff and financial resources, as well as capabilities; urges the improvement of the security protocols of the services working on intelligence and/or with sensitive information;

Added107. Recalls that Parliament has a distinct role to play in complementing the visibility and impact of the EU’s external action, thereby complementing the efforts of the diplomatic services of the EU and the Member States;

Added108. Believes that there is a need for stronger parliamentary oversight of EU external action, including regular and timely, yet secure, access to confidential information and structured dialogues in line with Article 36 TEU; emphasises the need for more feedback from the VP/HR and the EEAS about the actions taken and the effects achieved, in order to fulfil Parliament’s recommendations outlined in the resolutions on foreign affairs matters; stresses that democratic oversight cannot be effective without genuine access to classified information and assessments, and urges improvements to the 2002 Interinstitutional Agreement to make it fit for current security realities;

Added109. Underlines that each request raised above requires an appropriate written response from the VP/HR; calls on the VP/HR to respond to Parliament’s calls, requests and concerns swiftly and in writing; considers that oral statements in committee or plenary can only constitute a sufficient response in exceptional or urgent cases; stresses that in the current challenging geopolitical context, close cooperation and partnership between Parliament and the VP/HR are of strategic importance; underlines that CFSP or CSDP decisions entailing expenditure always constitute basic choices for those policies and must be subject to parliamentary oversight; expects more systematic exchanges prior to the adoption of mandates and CFSP strategies, and an improved flow of information on negotiations and the implementation of international agreements, as well as memoranda of understanding;

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110. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.