MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION BY THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS (AFET)

Friends Close, Enemies Even Closer: With the historic accession of Sweden and Finland into NATO, how should the EU and NATO develop the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation, particularly from the perspective of defence in Northern Europe and the Arctic?

Submitted by: Deniz A siçi (TR), Emilia Berndtsson (Gymnasiet Lärkan), Leotrim Deliu (Omnia aikuisten peruskoulu), Faisa Hassan (Turun normaalikoulu), Helinä Koivuranta (Lauttakylän lukio), Alisa Krol (Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu), Katariina Lehto (Puolalanmäen lukio), Elin Andersson Quist (Lauttakylän lukio), Mariia Tikhonova (Omnia Vocational School), Alina Varano (Turun normaalikoulu), Anna Maëlle Zbinden (CH), Frederick Lalu (Chairperson, FI), Pablo Luengo (Chairperson, ES)

The European Youth Parliament aims to improve security in Northern Europe and the Arctic regarding defence and environmental issues by ensuring efficient cooperation and communication between Member States of NATO, the EU, and the Arctic Council. Building a more financially independent EU would be in the best interest of every Member State. Non-violent strategies promoting the mission of the EU need to be emphasised to build a peaceful and secure Europe, because:

A. The EU is excessively dependent on external energy sources, especially from Russia,

B. The EU lacks the geopolitical power and capacity to tackle problems concerning the Arctic region such as climate change,

C. The militar y defence in Northern Europe is limited, leading to this region remaining vulnerable to increasing tensions between Russia and the EU,

D The focus on militar y-based partnerships mentioned in the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation of 2023 could make the EU seem like a militar y-based organisation, without a comprehensive, non-violent way of cooperation on issues such as the environment and infrastructure,

Turku 2023 – National Session of the European Youth Parliament Finland General Assembly, 10 April 2023

E. The Arctic Circle is estimated to contain 160 billion barrels of oil and 30% of the planetʼs undiscovered natural gas, making it an important region in geopolitical terms,

F. Member countries of the Arctic Council are expressing their interest in the natural resources of the Arctic, increasing the potential for conflict,

G. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to Arctic Council meetings as well as further cooperation concerning the Arctic being halted,

H. The largest part of NATOʼs joint defence budget is provided by the United States, leading the EU Member States to lack the motivation to achieve strategic autonomy in defence,

I. Differences in the objectives and policies of the EU and NATO are causing disagreements between members of these bodies leading to inefficient cooperation;

The European Youth Parliament,

1 Requests the European Commission to further develop the EU renewable energy financing mechanism and the REPowerEU plan, taking into account the European Green Deal to achieve: a. an increase in the use of geothermal power and renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric and wind power in Member States, b. EU independence from Russian fossil fuels by the year 2030;

2 Urges the EU to continue striving for permanent obser ver status in the Arctic Council;

3. Calls upon EU Member States belonging to the Arctic Council to collaborate in 1 representing the interests of the EU in the Council meetings;

4. Invites the European Defence Agency to further deepen cooperation with NATO to build 2 a strong defence in Northern Europe;

1 Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

2 The European Defence Agency (EDA) supports its 27 Member States in improving their defence capabilities through European cooperation

Turku 2023 – National Session of the European Youth Parliament Finland General Assembly, 10 April 2023

5. A sks the EU and NATO to develop a framework based on Article 12 in the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation 2023 regarding humanitarian, environmental, 3 and infrastructural issues;

6 Reminds Member States to cooperate with NATO and the Arctic Council to increase: a. cooperation in building a better environmental policy of the Arctic, b. recognition of the indigenous communities and ecosystems that are harmfully affected by the geopolitical and environmental situation in the Arctic;

7. Requests both EU and NATO members to promote the importance and urgency of the effects of climate change by empowering indigenous communities in the Arctic and their eco-activism;

8. Suggests to the Arctic Council members to hold meetings and take immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions regardless of the absent states due to political issues;

9. Encourages the European Defence Agency to improve the EUʼs defence capabilities by: a. further supporting the production of militar y equipment in the EU, b. continuing to monitor the supplies and militar y performance of national defence forces;

10. Calls upon the EU and NATO to create a shared council where representatives and obser vers (i.e. ministers of foreign affairs and defence) can collaborate on defence and foreign policy topics concerning safety, preventive maintenance of militar y equipment, 4 and peace promotion.

3 Article 12: “A s the security threats and challenges we are confronted with are evolving in scope and magnitude, we will take our partnership to the next level on the basis of our long-standing cooperation. We will further strengthen our cooperation in existing areas, and expand and deepen our cooperation to address in particular the growing geostrategic competition, resilience issues, protection of critical infrastructures, emerging and disruptive technologies, space, the security implications of climate change, as well as foreign information manipulation and interference”.

4 Preventive maintenance: The art of performing regularly scheduled maintenance activities to help prevent unexpected failures in the future