COUNCIL OF Brussels, 8 April 2014 THE EUROPEAN UNION

8669/14

PE 255 PESC 387 CSDP/PSDC 224 ELARG 55 COEST 129 COMEM 66 COHOM 59

COMAG 43 EG 8 IRAN 3 MED 24 LIBYE 2 NT 5 COREE 2

NOTE from: General Secretariat of the Council to: Delegations Subject: Summary record of the meeting of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs held in Brussels on 31 March and 1 April 2014

The majority of discussions revolved around the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood, not just during the exchange of views of the Committee with Commissioner FÜLE on the state of play of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

EU relations with its Eastern neighbours and with Russia were also discussed with a delegation from the Dutch Senate as well as in a public hearing on the situation in Belarus.

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On the EU's Southern Neighbourhood, the situation in Egypt regarding human rights and democracy was at the centre of MEPs' preoccupations: both in an exchange of views with Egypt's Minister for Foreign Affairs and on the occasion of an analysis, by two experts, of the Egyptian constitution, the situation in Tunisia, and the constitution process in Libya, which was also a cause for concern. On a more positive note, the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean reported on the activities of its secretariat.

The final report on the monitoring of journalists in was presented by the chairman of the ad hoc delegation. Ms MUNIZ DE URQUIZA's draft resolution on Iran was approved, following the previous rejection of her draft report on Iran at the last meeting. The Committee approved EP consent to the conclusion of the framework agreement with the Republic of Korea, and to the conclusion of the "Croatian protocol" to the EU-Albania agreement. It also approved a draft resolution on EU foreign policy in a world of cultural and religious differences.

The meeting was chaired by Mr PASCU (S&D, RO) and Mr KUKAN (EPP, SK).

31 March 2014 Item 1 on the agenda Adoption of the agenda

The agenda was adopted.

Item 2 on the agenda Chair’s announcements

The Chair highlighted the importance of the EU-African parliamentary summit on 31 March and 1 April 2014 in the Parliament, ahead of the 4th EU-African summit in the presence of the High Representative.

8669/14 MR/aa 2 DRI EN Item 3 on the agenda Approval of minutes of meetings of 10-11 February, 17 February, 27 February, 3 March, 10 March and 17-18 March 2014

The minutes were approved.

Item 4 on the agenda Analysis on the Egyptian constitution, the constitutional processes in Egypt and Tunisia and of the constitution development in Libya – Presentation by Michael MEYER-RESENDE from Democracy Reporting International and Jörg FEDTKE from Tulane Law School

Egypt and the January 2014 constitution

In Mr MEYER-RESENDE's analysis, the new Egyptian constitution of January 2014 does not mark a substantial change compared with the previous one adopted in December 2012 under President MORSI (Chairman of the Freedom and founded by the Muslim Brotherhood).

The constitution provides that Islam is the religion of the state and that the principles of sharia constitute the main source of legislation. In Mr MEYER-RESENDE's view, it remained to be seen whether that would be strictly interpreted by the legislator or considered more as moral guidance. According to Mr MEYER-RESENDE, much will depend on the interpretation of that provision by the legislator. On provisions on human rights, he noted an improvement compared with the 2012 constitution (provisions on equality between men and women, freedom of belief, expression, opinion), but considered that the situation in practice will greatly depend on implementation, as limitations could be inferred from other provisions.

On the governance system established by the constitution, he raised particular concerns in relation to the very strong role of the President coupled with the great powers of the military now cemented in the constitution: For the next 8 years, the agreement of the Supreme Council of armed forces will be needed for the nomination of the Minister for Defence; the trial of civilians by military tribunals will remain possible; the budget of the military will continue to be outside democratic control.

8669/14 MR/aa 3 DRI EN Ms GOMES (S&D, PT) shared his concerns regarding the strong role of the military. On human rights, she asked questions on the compatibility between the provisions on women's rights and the provisions on the sharia and condemned the death penalty and the mass sentencing of 529 representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood. She concluded that the Egyptian system could not be classified as democratic.

The process towards a constitution in Libya - Comparison with Egypt and Tunisia

Mr FEDTKE distinguished the situation in Libya concerning the drafting of a constitution, from the situations in Egypt and Tunisia. He focused on three main differences: in Libya, the lack of central institutions will have a double impact on the drafting of the constitution, 'negatively' because of the security issue and 'possibly positively' as drafters may have a 'carte blanche'. Then, whereas Islam will be the religion of the state, one could expect that the approach would be relatively moderate. Finally, Libya is a fairly rich country due to its energy resources, and the disputes over the distribution of those resources could impact on the governance system.

On the process leading to a constitution, Mr FEDTKE expressed some hope regarding the ability to compromise in Libya. Coupled with the likely expansion of the process to 18 months, that could lead to a degree of inclusiveness.

However, Mr FEDTKE expressed doubts as to whether that would lead to a decentralised/federal system, considering that federalism and the Arab world do not go easily together, but he noted that historical pressure and the distribution of resources could push for some federalism.

Ms GOMES took the view that Libya should draw lessons from the process followed in Tunisia in drafting the constitution (contribution of foreign expertise). She expressed concerns regarding the deteriorating security in Libya, which she characterised as a haven for terrorists, with dramatic consequences for human rights.

8669/14 MR/aa 4 DRI EN Item 5 on the agenda Exchange of views with Fathallah SIJILMASSI, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, on the activities of the secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in the current context of the Southern neighbourhood

Mr SIJILMASSI presented the UfM. He considered regional integration in the Mediterranean region - which he described as one of the weakest regional integration in the world - as a solution to the socio-economic challenges of the countries concerned.

He took the view that the northern co-presidency, assumed by the EU, created the conditions for consistent action by the EU in the region, whereas co-ownership with the South - the current southern presidency being held by Jordan - enabled a common strategy for action to be determined.

He mentioned the increasing number of thematic ministerial conferences and the activities of the parliamentary assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, in which he praised the efficiency of the President of the European Parliament, Mr Martin SCHULZ (S&D, DE). He also stressed the good cooperation with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank on projects. Replying to Mr MILLAN MON (EPP, ES), he acknowledged that some countries might have difficulties fulfilling the criteria for obtaining credits from the EIB. In this regard, he mentioned the ECOFIN/FEMIP (Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Facility for Investment and Partnership) Ministerial meeting, organised by the EU Council Presidency and the EIB and which took place in Athens on 1 April 2014: In the view of the UfM Secretay General, this meeting would mark the signing of a renewed memorandum of understanding between the UfM and EIB to give additional impetus to projects aimed at unleashing the region's growth potential. Replying to Mr SALAFRANCA's question (EPP, ES) on the contribution of SMEs to growth, he mentioned projects regarding the setting up of businesses, which would contribute to combating unemployment among young people, an issue common to both sides of the Mediterranean. On projects financing, he also mentioned the involvement of the Deauville Partnership and the League of Arab States.

8669/14 MR/aa 5 DRI EN MEPs (Mr SALAFRANCA, Mr MILLAN MON and Ms GOMES, S&D, PT) asked about support of the UfM for Arab countries, in particular in the post Arab Spring context. Mr SIJILMASSI replied that Egypt and Tunisia were the most important beneficiaries of UfM socio-economic projects. He also indicated that Libya was an active observer member of the UfM and a member of the 5+5 dialogue; as such, Libya had participated in the First Economic Forum of the Western Mediterranean in Barcelona in October 2013. Finally, he stressed that Syria had been suspended from the activities of the UfM given the situation in that country.

On the occasion of the EU-Africa summit, he stressed the importance of integrating the African dimension into the Mediterranean dimension.

In his concluding remarks, Mr SIJILMASSI called for the Parliament's active support to and cooperation with the UfM.

*** Voting time ***

Item 6 on the agenda EU - Albania: Protocol to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (accession of the Republic of Croatia) AFET/7/13805 Rapporteur: Mr VULJANIC (GUE, HR) • Adoption

The draft recommendation was approved unanimously, with 33 votes in favour, 0 against and no abstention, thereby approving the consent of the Parliament to the conclusion of the "Croatian protocol" to the EU-Albania agreement.

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Framework Agreement between the EU and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part AFET/7/13500 Rapporteur: Ms NICOLAI (ALDE, RO) • Adoption

The draft recommendation was approved unanimously, with 34 votes in favour, 0 against and no abstention, thereby approving the consent of the Parliament to the conclusion of the framework agreement with the Republic of Korea.

Item 8 on the agenda EU strategy towards Iran AFET/7/15526 Rapporteur: Ms MUNIZ DE URQUIZA (S&D, ES)

The draft motion for a resolution was approved, with 29 votes in favour, 1 against and 2 abstentions.

Item 9 on the agenda EU foreign policy in a world of cultural and religious differences AFET/7/15558 Rapporteur: Ms GIANNAKOU (EPP, EL)

The draft motion for a resolution was approved, with 33 votes in favour, 3 against and 1 abstention.

*** End of vote ***

8669/14 MR/aa 7 DRI EN Item 10 on the agenda Exchange of views with a delegation from the Eerste Kamer of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on EU-Russia relations and the Eastern Partnership

A delegation from the Senate of the States General of the Netherlands consulted the AFET Committee on the possible development of EU-Russia relations in the current context. They were represented by Ms STRIK (Chair of the Committee on European Affairs; Green ), Mr VAN DER LINDEN (Christian Democratic Appeal Party) and Mr DE VRIES (). They explained that this exchange of views would be particularly useful two weeks before their annual policy debate on EU politics with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

According to the members of the Senate, the development of an EU long term strategy with Russia and reciprocal trust were crucial for the Eastern Partnership to work and for the stability of the continent as a whole. They took the view that the EU and NATO bore some responsibility "in the way we are discussing the issue". They also considered that more sanctions would not be helpful, especially at a time when the EU greatly needed economic growth. Finally, they called on the EU to become more involved and the European Parliament to help re-establish trust on both sides.

MEPs reacted strongly, defining Russia's attitude as an aggression in Ukraine, with some of them drawing parallels with Hitler's annexation of Sudetenland (Ms NEYTS-UYTTERBROECK, ALDE, BE, Mr TANNOCK, ECR, UK) and Russia's invasion of Finland in 1939 (Mr SCHÖPFLIN, EPP, HU).

Mr PASCU, Mr TANNOCK and Mr SCHÖPFLIN rejected any responsibility of the EU for the situation, while others considered that the EU may have made mistakes (Ms NEYTS- UYTTERBROECK), for example when allowing the High Representative to go to the barricades in Maidan square (Sir Graham WATSON, ALDE, UK).

Ms NEYTS-UYTTERBROECK and Mr WATSON called on the EU to take more action rather than letting the United States act alone. Ms GOMES (S&D, PT), Mr TANNOCK and Sir Graham WATSON considered that the sanctions adopted against Russia officials would be useful.

8669/14 MR/aa 8 DRI EN On the possibility of developing a substantive dialogue/strategy with Russia, the great majority of MEPs were pessimistic: some felt that a dialogue could be possible when Russian troops returned to their bases (Mr WATSON), others (Mr TANNOCK, Mr SCHÖPFLIN, Mr KELAM, EPP, EE) felt that soft power was not sufficient to stop Russia invading sovereign states. Many MEPs wished to convey their experience of Russia, describing the relationship with Russia as frustrating, as Mr PUTIN was not interested in finding a win-win solution; they considered that the EU should give up all illusions and stop projecting Western values onto Russia.

Ms GOMES focused on the need for EU solidarity with Ukraine, highlighting that the way international financial support was provided to Ukraine should be different from what had been done for the recovery of countries of the euro area; otherwise it would play into Mr PUTIN's hands.

Item 11 on the agenda Exchange of views with Mr FÜLE, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, on the state of play of the ENP and on the progress reports

On the occasion of the last intervention of the Commissioner in the AFET Committee, the Chair thanked him for having maintained regular contacts with the Parliament throughout his mandate.

Mr FÜLE looked at the achievements of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) and the European Neighbourhood policy (ENP) in recent years, with a particular focus on Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, and made suggestions on a possible adjustment of the ENP.

Progress within the framework of the ENP

Regarding the Eastern partners, the Commissioner emphasised the progress made at the Vilnius Summit on November 2013 and the signature on 21 March 2014 of the political provisions of the Association Agreement with Ukraine. He also mentioned the current efforts of Moldova, Georgia and the EU to enable the Association Agreements with those countries to be signed by June 2014. He welcomed the progress on visa dialogue, particularly with Moldova.

8669/14 MR/aa 9 DRI EN Mr FÜLE stressed that the EU offer for Association Agreements with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova was in response to the requests of those sovereign states, and that the Commission had always shown its readiness to discuss with Russia the possible impact of those agreements. He took the view that such agreements were not at the expense of Russia. Whereas the Commission had raised that issue at a meeting of the college of Commissioners with the Russian government in the beginning of 2013, Mr FÜLE explained that it was only at the last EU-Russia summit that Russia had decided to engage in such discussion, but that instead of a dialogue it had decided to apply pressure on Ukraine, leading the country to postpone the signature of the agreement with the EU. Mr FÜLE expressed the Commission's openness to discussions with the neighbours of EU neighbours at any time.

Regarding the Southern partners, he referred to the progress made on the implementation of the roadmap and mentioned the December 2012 joint communication supporting closer cooperation and regional integration in the Maghreb, and to the establishment on 3 March 2014 of a mobility partnership with Tunisia.

On the ENP in general, Mr FÜLE highlighted the support for civil society with the dedicated ENP facility, the cooperation in many sectors (economy, transports, energy, environment, education) and the participation of many of the countries concerned in the 2014-2020 European programmes.

Assessment of the ENP and suggestions for the future

The Commissioner took the view that the ENP remained a relevant policy framework, having achieved results and enabled the EU to react rapidly to crises, e.g., with the unprecedented support package for Ukraine or the financial aid for Syria. He noted however that in a number of cases, the EU, with all its institutions and Members States, had not reacted as rapidly and comprehensively as needed. He therefore suggested that the approach to the countries concerned be even more differentiated. In his view, some parts of the policy should be adjusted, to enable the EU to react faster and more flexibly.

The Commissioner considered that the mid term review of the ENP was an important tool of interaction between the Parliament, the Commission and the EEAS to make sure that EU reactions were up to speed.

8669/14 MR/aa 10 DRI EN On future support to EU partners, Mr FÜLE referred to the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council stating that the Association Agreement with Ukraine was not the final goal of cooperation. He considered that regarding the European aspirations of a number of partners, the EU had to propose the most efficient transformation tool that the EU had at its disposal.

On Southern countries, he mentioned the example of EU cooperation with Tunisia and took the view that a common economic space should be created as a first step and that other means - such as people-to-people exchanges - should be considered.

Mr FÜLE concluded that the EU had to support the economic and political transition of its partners and tackle security threats, including through concrete actions. In that regard, he took the view that the EU could and should aim higher.

Questions and answers

Several MEPs expressed concerns regarding the current events with Russia. Sir Graham WATSON (ALDE, UK) criticised the timidity of EU action regarding Russia, Mr DUFF (ALDE, UK) considered that Russia was the biggest failure of CFSP and Mr TANNOCK (ECR, UK) considered that Mr PUTIN was aiming at rebuilding the Soviet Union. On CFSP, Mr FÜLE took the view that cooperation between the Commission and the EEAS was working well, but wondered whether "we did not lose the Member States" in the process. He stressed the need for a much stronger link between the EEAS and the Commission on the one side, and the Member States on the other side, and took as an example the recent talks between John KERRY and Sergei LAVROV on Ukraine.

The other concerns raised by MEPs related mainly to the situation in Turkey, Libya, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr VULJANIC (GUE, HR) took the view that the EU should engage more strongly in Bosnia and Herzgovina. Mr KREISSL-DÖRFLER (S&D, DE) and Ms GOMES (S&D, PT) confused the EU's disconcerted approach in general, notably in Libya. Mr DUFF and Ms OOMEN- RUYTEN ((EPP, NL) expressed concerns regarding the situation in Turkey. Mr DUFF added that, in general, the review of the ENP should be radical as it had failed, and he also recommended that the new Commission and Parliament should consider forms of integration other than EU membership. Mr FÜLE replied that when Turkey accedes to the EU, it would be another Turkey and another EU, but he stressed the need for the enlargement perspective as the most efficient EU tool for triggering reform.

8669/14 MR/aa 11 DRI EN Item 12 on the agenda Public hearing on the political and economic situation in Belarus

Speakers: Mr PALECKIS (S&D, LT, Standing Rapporteur on Belarus), Mr TEMPRANO ARROYO (European Commission), Mr MOSHES (Finnish Institute for International Affairs), Mr MILINKEVICH (2006 Sakharov Prize Laureate).

The speakers agreed on the situation in Belarus: . An increasingly disastrous economic situation, further enhanced by the crisis in Ukraine. . The lack of progress as regards the human rights situation, with generally repressive policies, and the central issue of political prisoners. The only European country with the death penalty. Violation of electoral standards for the local elections in March 2014. . Russia as its most important trading partner, and the EU as the second largest. Belarus joining a Customs Union with Russia and Kazakhstan, and building a Single Economic Space with those partners.

A picture of the geopolitical situation of Belarus was drawn by Mr MILINKEVICH and Mr MOSHES: Belarus would not modernise as long as its economy remained dependant upon Russia. In the course of 2013, President LUKASHENKO tried to start emancipating the country from Russia through a policy of tensions. But the events in Ukraine made him lose the room for manoeuvre that he might have gained. Mr LUKASHENKO would now fear that similar events could occur in his country, but would at the same time wish to keep ties with the West and with Ukraine. Mr MILINKEVICH considered that the presence of Russian military bases in Belarus was a violation of the constitution and put the country at risk.

Thus, Mr LUKASHENKO's dual positions on the Ukrainian crisis: criticising Russia's annexation of Crimea as setting a bad precedent, while saying that the territory was now de facto a part of Russia, and voting against the UN General Assembly's resolution backing Ukraine's territorial integrity on 27 March 2014. Mr LUKASHENKO and around 40% of Belarusian society would think that the EU and the West were weak, and would not offer solutions to Belarus in the form of action. Therefore, if Belarus would need to make a choice, it would choose Russia.

8669/14 MR/aa 12 DRI EN Mr TEMPRANO ARROYO described the policy of the EU towards Belarus: . A policy of critical engagement. . Cooperation through the multilateral track of the Eastern Partnership and technical dialogues on specific topics of common interest. . Bilateral EU assistance focused on supporting the needs of the population and democratisation. . Restrictive measures against President LUKASHENKO, officials and companies.

What should be the approach to Belarus? In the discussions on the EU's approach to Belarus, all agreed that the EU should not turn its back on Belarus. Mr PALECKIS stressed that the EU needed to better differentiate between Eastern partners. He deplored the fact that the EU had lost sight of Belarus since the crisis in Ukraine. Mr MILINKEVICH called on the EU to encourage Belarusian efforts to advance towards economic and political independence, to liberalise visas, to intensify its calls for the liberation of political prisoners (possibly in exchange for economic support, and also by maintaining EU restrictive measures), to oppose the presence of Russian troops in Belarus.

Mr PÖTTERING (EPP, DE) welcomed EU sanctions against Belarus and considered that the EU should also adopt such sanctions against Russian officials, aiming at the liberation of political prisoners in Russia. The Chair considered that the EU policy towards Russia should be strong and indicated that the Parliament would continue to closely monitor the situation in Belarus.

Item 13 on the agenda Exchange of views with Nabil FAHMI, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, on the current situation in Egypt

Mr FAHMI considered that Egypt had gone through "two revolutions" in the last three years and gave his opinion on the reasons: the - on average young - people is looking for Egypt's identity in a modern world. He considered that the sequence of events following the first "revolution" in 2011 was wrong, as - in his view, non-inclusive - presidential elections were organised before adopting a new constitution in 2012. Now that the January 2014 constitution has been adopted, he indicated that the Presidential elections were due to take place by June, followed by the legislative elections by mid-October 2014.

8669/14 MR/aa 13 DRI EN In general, MEPs (Mr Mario DAVID, EPP, PT, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries; Mr SALAFRANCA, EPP, ES; Ms GOMES, S&D, PT; Mr VAN BAALEN, ALDE, NL; Mr TANNOCK, ECR, UK) recognised Egypt as an important partner of the EU but expressed deep concerns at the situation regarding democracy, the rule of law and human rights. They focused on the issue of the mass trials of 529 Muslim Brothers and the death penalty, but mentioned also the situation regarding freedom of the press as well as the provisions in the new constitution enshrining strong powers of the military. They called on the Egyptian authorities to establish democracy, as a price to obtain the support of the international community.

On the mass sentencing of Muslim Brothers, Mr FAHMI highlighted the independence of the judiciary, but also explained that the judgement had been rendered in accordance with Egyptian law and was not definitive: the Mufti (Sunni Juris consult) will give his opinion on the cases; then, the tribunal will issue judgements which will be subject to appeal; finally, it will be up to the President to confirm the judgements. On the death penalty, Mr FAHMI replied that it is part of Egyptian law.

The Minister stressed that every citizen who wants to be Egyptian and who behaves in a peaceful way has the right to be part of the Egyptian political future. He highlighted that the first priority for the authorities is to re-establish security and that the situation in that regard was exceptional. He added that developing the economy would follow, in a progressive effort to build democracy.

Finally, the Minister called on the EU to support Egypt in its efforts towards democracy, while urging it not to interfere.

Item 14 on the agenda Exchange of views with Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos on maritime security

This exchange of views was cancelled.

8669/14 MR/aa 14 DRI EN Item 15 on the agenda Presentation of the final report on the monitoring of journalists trials in Turkey by the ad-hoc delegation of the European Parliament

Mr WAŁĘSA (EPP, PL), presented the final report of the Ad Hoc Delegation chaired by him, indicating that it had been tasked in 2011 to observe "important trials of journalists in Turkey, including those of Nedim SENER and Ahmet SIK". He explained that, although the number of imprisoned journalists remained uncertain (estimated at around 50), it was clear that it had decreased (from more than 100 at the beginning of 2012), in particular as a result of the 3rd and 4th judiciary reform packages, which had entered into force in 2012 and 2013 respectively. He welcomed the preparation of a Human Rights Action Plan by the Turkish Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Council of Europe based on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

He remained concerned in particular regarding self-censorship by journalists and the length of pre- trial periods. He considered that the EU should continue to exert pressure on Turkey regarding freedom of expression, all the more so considering the recent worrying pieces of legislation tightening the government's control over the judiciary and over the internet.

Mr DUFF (ALDE, UK) welcomed the work of the Delegation as an example of how EP engagement with Turkey can be effective. Mr CASHMAN (S&D, UK), a member of the Ad Hoc Delegation, stated that the report was too weak and that he was considering issuing a minority report containing supplementary recommendations.

Mr WAŁĘSA concluded by expressing his hope that the next Parliament would continue to monitor trials of journalists in Turkey.

Item 16 on the agenda Any other business

There was no other business.

8669/14 MR/aa 15 DRI EN Item 17 on the agenda Next meeting

The next meeting will be held on 10 July 2014.

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