75.Calls for the establishment of a new social pact aimed at preserving Europe’s social market economy, respecting the right to collective bargaining; points out that such a pact could enhance the coordination of the social policies of the Member States;

76.Takes the view that the European Union’s comprehensive approach to external conflicts and crises should be reinforced by bringing together more closely the different actors and instruments in all phases of the conflict cycle, and considers it necessary that Parliament and the Council start adopting joint strategic documents;

77.Insists on using the provisions of Article 22 TEU to set up an overall strategic framework for, and to take decisions on, strategic interests that can extend beyond CFSP to other areas of external action; recalls that decisions taken on the basis of such a strategy could be implemented by QMV;

78.Calls for parliamentary oversight of EU external action to be strengthened, including by continuing the regular consultations with the Vice-President/High Representative (VP/HR), the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Commission, and for negotiations on replacing the 2002 Interinstitutional Agreement on access to sensitive information of the Council in the field of CFSP to be concluded;

79.Considers it necessary that the EU Special Representatives be integrated into the EEAS, including by transferring their budget from the CFSP lines to the EEAS lines, as this would increase the coherence of EU efforts;

80.Calls for the use of Article 31 (2) TEU, which allows the Council to take certain decisions on matters of CFSP by QMV, and the ‘passerelle clause’ contained in Article 31 (3) TEU) to switch progressively to QMV for decisions in the area of CFSP that do not have military or defence implications; recalls that Article 20 (2) TEU, which lays down the provisions for enhanced cooperation, provides additional possibilities for Member States to move forward with CFSP and should therefore be used;

81.Believes that there is a need to increase the flexibility of the financial rules for external action in order to avoid delays in the operational disbursement of EU funds and, thereby, increase the EU’s ability to respond to crises in a speedy and effective way; considers it necessary, in this regard, to set up a fast-track procedure for humanitarian assistance to ensure that aid is disbursed in the most efficient and effective way possible;

82.Urges the Council, the EEAS and the Commission to uphold their respective obligations to immediately and fully inform Parliament at all stages of the negotiating and concluding processes of international agreements, as stipulated in Article 218 (10) TFEU and as detailed in interinstitutional agreements with the Commission and the Council;

83.Calls for progressive steps to be taken towards a common defence policy (Article 42(2) TEU) and, eventually, a common defence, which can be set up by unanimous decision of the European Council;

84.Suggests, as a first step in this direction, that the provisions of Article 46 TEU regarding the establishment of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) through a QMV vote in the Council be implemented, as this instrument would allow more ambitious Member States to cooperate more closely in the area of defence, and empower them to use the EU’s institutions, instruments and budget;

85.Insists on complementing the provisions for PESCO with an EU white book on security and defence on the basis of the EU global strategy for foreign and security policy currently under preparation by the VP/HR, as such a document would further define the EU’s strategic objectives in the field of security and defence, and identify the existing and required capabilities;

86.Underlines the need to define common European capabilities and armaments policy (Article 42(3) TEU), which would encompass the joint planning, development and procurement of military capabilities and which should also include proposals to react to cyber, hybrid and asymmetrical threats; encourages the Commission to work on an ambitious European Defence Action Plan, as announced in the 2016 Work Programme;

87.Considers it necessary to strengthen the European Defence Agency (EDA) by providing it with needed resources and political backing, thereby allowing it to play a leading and coordinating role in capability development, research and procurement;

88.Recalls the existence of Article 44 TEU, which provides additional flexibility provisions and introduces the possibility of entrusting the implementation of crisis management tasks to a group of Member States, which would carry out such tasks in the name of the EU and under the political control and strategic guidance of the Political and Security Committee (PSC) and the EEAS;

89.Suggests that Article 41 (3) TEU be used to establish a start-up fund comprised of Member States’ contributions to finance preparatory activities pertaining to Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) activities not charged to the Union budget;

90.Stresses the importance of extending common financing in the area of military CSDP, including through the Athena mechanism, as this would reduce financial disincentives on the part of Member States for contributing to military CSDP missions and operations and, thereby, improve the EU’s ability to react to crises;

91.Calls for the creation of a permanent military operational headquarters that would cooperate closely with the existing Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC); calls for the institutionalisation of the various European military structures (among others the different ‘Battle Groups’, Euroforces, France-United Kingdom defence cooperation, Benelux air defence cooperation) into the EU framework, and for an increase in the usability of EU battlegroups, inter alia by extending common financing and by considering, by default, their deployment as an initial entry force in future crisis management scenarios;