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Spotlight: European Parliament adopts annual resolution a day before EU summit

Xinhua, December 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Parliament adopted Wednesday its annual resolution a day before the EU summit to be held in Brussels on Thursday.

The resolution in review of key EU decisions regarding foreign policy was adopted with 433 votes in favor, 174 against and 93 abstentions.

The resolution calls on EU member states to "show more unity and trust," and to speak with one voice to increase the importance of the EU's role on the world stage.

The EU is surrounded by an "arc of instability" ranging from the Middle East to Northern Africa, declared the text.

In this context, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) advised the EU to adopt foreign policy with diplomacy, development and defense as the pillars.

The MEPs met for a plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday and reached the resolution after a long debate.

During the debate, Elmar Brok from European People's Party group of Germany, stood up to defend "a veritable common diplomatic voice" and its "prerequisite military."

Brok, who's also the parliament's rapporteur on the resolution and the Foreign Affairs Committee chair, called on EU member states to dispense the necessary sums.

Russia is another point noted in the resolution, which insists on a "necessity to define a more realistic strategy on EU relations with Russia."

It also proposes "investing more effort in dialogue with Russia's civil society, whilst maintaining diplomatic, political and economic pressure on the Russian government."

According to the resolution, as the "more for more" policy has failed to win over the EU's neighbours. Instead, the EU should switch to a "less for less" policy "with regard to those countries which go into reverse in terms of governance, democracy and human rights."

The resolution also underlines that "power politics is again dominating international relations" and that "defence and deterrence capabilities are critical to EU leverage in diplomatic talks."

So, the European Parliament pleads for higher spending on defense and common funds for EU missions, demanding measures aiming to improve possibilities for the use of EU rapid response forces, as well as the shared purchase of defense equipment.

MEPs also called on the EU and NATO to cooperate more on questions of cybersecurity, migration, strategic communications and responses to "hybrid threats." Endit