Security and Defence Subcommittee (SEDE) - European Parliament

On 19 September, SEDE will organise a public hearing on European defence industry and the urgent need to replenish defence stockpiles within the EU.

Members will discuss with an independent expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and representatives from EU defence industries on the contribution of the recently adopted legislative acts - EDIRPA and ASAP - to strengthen the Member States joint procurement of defence capabilities and to ramp-up European defence industry's production capacity. The discussion will raise questions including how these initiatives help to secure the combat readiness of armed forces, to replace existing Soviet era legacy systems with European solutions, and to provide for specific priority capabilities like European multilayer Air and Missile Defence.

Draft programme
Poster
EPRS briefing: European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act (EDIRPA)
EPRS briefing: Act in support of ammunition production (ASAP)
EPRS briefing: Reinforcing the European defence industry
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 18 September, SEDE Members will discuss with Margarita Robles, Minister of Defence of Spain, the Spanish Presidency priorities in the area of security and defence. In the context of the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Presidency will focus on strengthening defence capabilities, including the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity and the implementation of the Strategic Compass.

Members will also discuss three draft reports on the implementation of the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence, the Annual Report on the Common Security and Defence Policy and on the Security and defence implications of China's influence on critical infrastructure in the European Union.

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

MEPs backed the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) on Tuesday.
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

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Ministers are holding a series of meetings in parliamentary committees to present the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Fisheries
Committee on Regional Development
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation carried out a further military invasion of Ukraine, violating the UN Charter. The ongoing international armed conflict in Ukraine raises concerns about harm and impact caused to the civilian population, and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure which are affected by both kinetic and cyberattacks. This report analyses the magnitude of the cyber dimension of the war in Ukraine, its impact, and the lessons learned with the aim to increase understanding about the threat environment, and strengthen cyber resilience and defence capabilities across the EU and in neighbouring countries.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 7 September the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, will address Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and its Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE). The discussion will come shortly after the NATO Summit in Vilnius where Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance have again reaffirmed the enduring transatlantic bond, unity, cohesion, and solidarity at a critical time for international peace and stability.
Allies also committed to continue cooperating closely with the European Union in order to make the Euro-Atlantic area and the broader neighbourhood more secure. The exchange will allow Members to discuss with the Secretary General the latest developments in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and highlight the importance of the EU's strategic partnership with NATO.
Meeting agenda
AFET Committee
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The European Parliament launched a process of monitoring possible future risks for the EU during the COVID-19 crisis, and has developed this further during Russia's war on Ukraine. The annual 'Future Shocks' series provides up-to-date, objective, and authoritative information on global risks through a 360° survey based on risk literature from a broad range of sources. Future Shocks 2023: Anticipating and weathering the next storms discusses 15 risks related to geopolitics, climate change, health, economics and democracy that could occur in the coming decade, and 10 policy responses to address both existing governance capacity and possible ways to enhance risk-response capabilities within the EU.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Length of video : 81'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

In 2022, the EU Strategic Compass included space as a strategic domain, and called for a dedicated European strategy. In the meantime, Russia's invasion of Ukraine confirmed the key role of space for defence and resilience, but also highlighted vulnerabilities related to space systems. Another 'wake-up call' came from a different direction; SpaceX's advances in reusable rocket technology leading to Starship's first orbital flight test turned the spotlight onto launch providers and access to space. Space is a critical infrastructure issue with growing economic significance. It is also an increasingly contested arena between competing geopolitical interests. To address these rising challenges, in March 2023 the European Commission and the High Representative/Vice-President presented their first joint communication on a European space strategy for security and defence.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Length of video : 30'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

This paper presents a regional evaluation in parallel to the EPRS 2023 Peace and Security Outlook. It has been drafted as a contribution to the Normandy World Peace Forum taking place in September 2023. The paper provides the background to EU relations with Iraq. After providing a brief overview of the country's current political, economic and social situation, the analysis provides an inventory of the tools and mechanisms and funding put in place by the EU, looks at recent developments and corresponding EU external policy. It also provides an overview of European Parliament resolutions, and Council conclusions since the 2012 EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, as well as a selection of the opinions found in recent research on EU-Iraq relations.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

The next ordinary meeting of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on Monday, 18 September 2023 from 15.00 - 18.30hrs and on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 from 9.00 - 12.30 and 14.30 - 18.30 in Brussels (room SPINELLI 3G2).

The meeting agenda and documents will be published here.

SEDE missions 2023:

• Germany and Poland - 24-26 July 2023
  
• Armenia - 19-22 June 2023
  
• Romania and Moldova - 15-18 May 2023
  
• Djibouti and Somalia - 1-4 April 2023
  
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - 20-23 February 2023
  

SEDE missions 2022:

• SEDE mission to South Korea and Japan - 18-22 December 2022
  
• SEDE mission to Niger from 31 October - 3 November 2022
  
• SEDE mission to Mozambique from 18-22 September 2022
  
• SEDE mission to France from 19-21 July 2022
  
• SEDE mission to Iraq from 24-28 May 2022
• SEDE mission to Georgia from 10-14 April 2022

SEDE meetings' calendar 2023
EP calendar 2023
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Length of video : 97'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Length of video : 46'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Length of video : 129'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On Tuesday evening, Parliament and Council reached a deal on new rules to incentivise EU countries to jointly procure defence products and support the EU’s defence industry.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

China’s footprint in European critical assets has grown steadily over time, without any centralised mechanism that could give the European Union (EU) and Member State agencies visibility and scrutiny over projects of strategic significance for Europe’s defence and security. China’s footprint poses specific challenges to Europe’s efforts to protect its critical infrastructure. China’s party-led political system does not allow clear distinctions between commercial, political and military interests, often viewing Chinese state and private companies’ international activities as instruments helping the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expand its influence in foreign countries and undermine geopolitical rivals. The CCP’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy incentivises civilian actors to contribute to the modernisation of the People Liberation Army (PLA) through technology transfer. Chinese companies’ access to EU critical infrastructure thus calls for an analysis of threats to Europe’s defence and security architecture. Using research with original Chinese-language sources, this paper analyses the involvement of China state-linked entities in selected critical sectors — ports, rare metals and undersea cables — to identify short-, medium- and long-term threats to the EU’s strategic sovereignty. These cases expose how entities linked to the Chinese party-state can gain access to and exert influence on assets that are vital to Europe’s security and defence, including transport infrastructure, critical resources and telecommunications networks. This research demonstrates that traditional approaches to infrastructure protection based on direct ownership are insufficient, since China’s party-state can obtain access to critical infrastructure through indirect, equally effective channels. As these cases show, infrastructure protection mechanisms, whose codification and implementation remains incomplete, must be extended to be able to scrutinise the risks that China’s leverage over non-science investors and Chinese state-linked contractors pose to the EU’s critical infrastructure.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP