Security and Defence Subcommittee (SEDE) - European Parliament

Following the impetus by the European Council in December 2013, emphasizing that defence investments are the key to develop, deploy and sustain military capabilities in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy, the European Commission and the European Defence Agency, have worked on establishing a preparatory action on CSDP research. The Commission will present the relevant terms and provide an outlook on the implementation of the preparatory action at SEDE meeting on 30 May 2016.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Emanating from Russia in the east and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the south, the EU has been increasingly hit by destabilising messages amounting – in different forms and to different degrees – to coherent hostile ‘strategic communications’ campaigns, or the processes of infusing communications activities with an agenda or plan to impact the behaviour of a target audience. Both Russia and ISIL have engaged in aggressive messaging and deceptive media campaigns, albeit with distinct narratives, targets and audiences. This paper analyses the ‘what’ and the ‘how’: the respective narratives of each actor, their specificities, their similarities and their differences. The analysis also draws attention to strategic communications efforts undertaken by the EU, which are vectored into defensive (react and respond) and offensive (probe and push) dimensions. This understanding of the present context finally allows for an evaluation of what actions can be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the EU’s own strategic communications.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 30 May, SEDE will exchange views with Rear Admiral Waldemar Gluszko, Deputy Director General of the EU Military Staff at the European External Action Service on the Clearing House Mechanism. This Mechanism offers the possibility for the EU to coordinate the provision of military equipment, services and other assets and capabilities coming from Member States, Third States and International Organisations in order to enhance partner countries’ ability to manage crises by themselves.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

A 7 Members-delegation of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, led by SEDE Chair Mrs A. Fotyga is travelling to Georgia on 17-20 May. The main objective of the SEDE mission is to visit the EU Monitoring Mission and scrutinise its activities and main challenges. The programme will also include meetings with Georgian authorities – President and Prime Minister, governmental representatives (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior) and related parliamentary committees.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 21 April, SEDE held a public hearing to address the cyber defence and resilience from the CSDP perspective at the EU level and national levels. How to build the resilience and efficiently protect critical infrastructures? Which are the cyber warfare capabilities in our changing world? Given that cyber security stays high on the European agendas and is one of the Presidency priorities, it will be extremely interesting to gather different experts and hear which their insights are.
Location : Paul-Henri Spaak 5B001
Programme
Programme
Presentation
Presentation by Steve Purser, Head of Core Operations Department, ENISA
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Speech by Jacek Bylica, Principal Adviser and Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, EEAS : [EN]
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 20 April, SEDE exchanged views with Florence Gaub, EUISS, and Anar Valiyev, ADA University, Baku on how to combat ISIL in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood Countries. The attacks in Paris and Brussels have demonstrated the recklessness and tenacity of the terror organisation "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)". Their jihadist ideology has become the blueprint for aspiring terrorist groups and organisations in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood of the EU.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Length of video : 177'
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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, 2016 - EP

Length of video : 200'
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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, 2016 - EP

Length of video : 158'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.4Gb) format

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, 2016 - EP

On 21 April, SEDE will hold a public hearing to address the cyber defence and resilience from the CSDP perspective at the EU level and national levels. How to build the resilience and efficiently protect critical infrastructures? Which are the cyber warfare capabilities in our changing world? Given that cyber security stays high on the European agendas and is one of the Presidency priorities, it will be extremely interesting to gather different experts and hear which their insights are.
Location : Paul-Henri Spaak 5B001
Programme
Programme
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will hold on 20 April, jointly with the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, a hearing on "Securing the External Borders of the EU - a challenge for External and Internal Security".

The objective of the hearing is to discuss the way the EU's naval operation to combat people smuggling in the Mediterranean, border assistance and capacity building in the Sahel, and Frontex operations function together. The current crises in the EU neighbourhood demonstrate how deeply internal and external security are interlinked.

Location : Room Paul-Henri Spaak (5B001), Brussels
Further information
Programme
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The latest response to the situation of refugees in the European Union is the "European Agenda on Migration", which aims to strengthen the common migration and asylum policy. This leaflet provides extracts from relevant supporting analyses prepared by European Parliament’s policy departments for different EP's committees.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

There is an increasing demand for the EU to become a ‘Security Provider’. This demand comes from Europe’s best ally, namely the U.S., but also from Member States themselves. For the first time ever the defence solidarity clause of article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union was invoked in November 2015. Ultimately the demand to put ‘more defence in the Union’ comes from European citizens who wonder why Europe does not protect them in the current turmoil. From the answer to this question depends not only Europe’s ‘strategic autonomy’, but possibly the future of the whole European project. Several steps have already been initiated to answer the call for more defence in Europe. Since the beginning of his mandate, President Juncker has declared defence a ‘priority’, called for the implementation of the Permanent Structured Cooperation enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty and reiterated the long term vision of a ’European army’. In June 2016, a ‘global strategy’ will be issued and a Commission Defence Action Plan should follow by the end of 2016. A ‘Pilot Project’, adopted by the European Parliament in autumn 2014, has been launched and should open the path to a ‘Preparatory Action on Defence Research’ that may be voted in 2016 for the 2017-2020 budgets. A natural underpinning of those efforts should be the undertaking of a full-fledged Union programme in defence research. The size, the shape and the steps to be taken towards setting it up are the subject of the present report.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The Subcommittee held a Public Hearing on the Review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is due in 2015, with experts from think tanks, NGOs and the EEAS.
Location : Brussels, room Altiero Spinelli 1G2
Programme
Draft programme
Poster
Poster
Background documents
Background documents
Presentations
Presentation by Rebecca Johnson, Director, Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP