Policy and International Affairs

Policy and International Affairs Division

Office of the Director of Policy and International Affairs

international affairs [ international politics | International politics(STW) ]

Competition policy,coordination,international affairs and relations with the other institutions

foreign policy [ foreign affairs | foreign relations ]

Centre for International Security Policy [ CISP ]

Office for Political and General Assembly Affairs and Secretariat Services | OPGS [Abbr.]

Political Affairs Division III,International Organisations,Security and Peace

Group of Twenty-Four [ G24 | G-24 | Group of 24 | Intergovernmental Group of 24 | Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs | Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-four on International Monetary Affairs and Development ]

B. whereas, despite the year-long negotiations on a partnership agreement and cooperation in different European and international fora, the Russian Federation, the EU and its Member States and the US failed to overcome their differences on international problems and political and economic perspectives, as well as on democracy, political, social and human rights questions; whereas, as a result of these failed policies, the citizens of th ...[+++]e EU, the Russian Federation, the countries of the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods and the US are now involved in another dangerous escalation of political and military tensions between Russia and the EU, NATO and the US;

L. whereas, in its conclusions of 21 August 2013, the Foreign Affairs Council tasked Vice-President / High Representative Catherine Ashton to review, in cooperation with the Commission, the issue of EU assistance to Egypt under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the EU-Egypt Association Agreement; whereas partnership with societies, an incentive-based approach and the principle of ‘more for more’, and eventually ‘less for less’, are cornerstones of the Union’s reviewed ENP; whereas Article 2 of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement declares that ‘relations between the Parties, as well as the provisions of the Agreement itself, sh ...[+++]all be based on respect of democratic principles and fundamental human rights as set out in the Declaration of Human Rights, which guide their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement’; whereas in her statement of 11 January 2014 Vice-President / High Representative Catherine Ashton declared that ‘dignity, social justice, security, democracy, human rights, and a better economy remain the goals the EU stands by Egypt to achieve’;

Notes the importance of skilled and trained entrepreneurs in facing the challenges of international business; calls on the Commission to promote the ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ programme and to study the possibility of an ‘Erasmus Mundus for Entrepreneurs’ in order to give talented entrepreneurs the opportunity to acquire experience in, and network with, centres of excellence outside the EU, also through advanced business culture training, which allows an international entrepreneurial vision to be gained, in order to acquire th ...[+++]e necessary and fundamental tools to compete in a global market; calls on the Commission and the Member States to include young entrepreneurs and industrial policy in the relevant EU policies for the ‘Erasmus for All’ programme;

K. whereas the BRICS and current emerging economies do not constitute or comprise a formal grouping of countries designed to play a specific role in international affairs and whereas the EU should therefore develop a relationship with each one of those countries, taking note of their singularity and specific foreign policy objectives and aims; whereas the EU should invest in strategic partnerships with each BRICS country and other emerging economies, as they increasingly play a role in the international arena, particularly in intern ...[+++]ational organisations, such as the UN, as a means of advancing common goals, namely peace and global security, the rule of law domestically or internationally, the promotion of human rights, democracy, sustainable development and global financial regulation;