The Online Newspaper "EUobserver" reports on the European Defence Fund and the financing of lethal autonomous weapons systems: "The European Parliament has postponed a debate on autonomous weapons systems, known colloquially as 'killer robots' [...] A spokesman for far-left GUE/NGL told EUobserver it was the second time a debate on killer robots was postponed ...
Today, MEPs and their counterparts from 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries completed a three-day ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly to define the future of their partnership. The Cotonou agreement, the treaty between the EU and ACP countries, will expire in 2020. In addition to debating the treaty’s renewal (also known as the post-Cotonou agreement), other topics on the agenda included migration, terrorism, population growth and the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan ...
The documentary was broadcasted on on greek ERT1 'europe28' evening and it is now available to watch via webTV. The documentary is about the EU defence fund, the permanent structured cooperation (PESCO), the EU arms industry and arms exports (EDIDP, lobby groups, military industrial complex) and the general militarisation of the EU ...
Currently, it is the prevalent perception in Brussels that if the EU wants to establish itself as a veritable global player within the group of major powers, the construction of a powerful military establishment is inevitable. Great Britain has blocked such a development for many years. Hence, the then chair of the EU-Parliament’s Committee of Foreign Policy, Elmar Brok, explained immediately after the British EUReferendum: “The Brexit has upsides, too. The Britons have hold us back for many years. Now progress is finally being made.”
New Europe reports on the “EU Defence plan and future of Europe” debate in Strasbourg: "Opening the debate with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen, German MEP Sabine Lösing spoke on behalf of the GUE/NGL group, saying: “Despite the official EU position on this matter, the great majority of people do not want the militarisation of the union.”
Internet news service Science|Business reports on the EUs first ever military research competition (sciencebusiness.net/news/80316/First-ever-EU-military-research-competition-launches-with-%E2%82%AC1.5B-per-year): "Despite a survey by the Commission that shows strong support for the move into defence research, early indications are that the far-reaching plan is extremely polarising ...
New Europe reports on the EU-Commissions plans to militarise the European Union (www.neweurope.eu/article/plans-militarise-eu-dark-day-peace/): The European United Left – Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) has criticised the European Commission’s plans to militarise the EU. The group’s Sabine Lösing described ...
GUE/NGL’s Sabine Lösing has described plans by the European Commission to militarise the EU as a ‘dark day for peace’ after the unveiling of the EU Defence Fund by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen in Brussels today. Lösing was ...
Left Parliamentarians GUE/NGL MEP Sabine Lösing, PODEMOS MP Pablo Bustinduy and DIE LINKE MP Sevim Dağdelen attended the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in Valetta on the 26th - 28th of April 2017. This Inter-Parliamentary Conference is convened with the aim of scrutinising EU Foreign Affairs and Defence Policy with national and European Parliamentarians from all political groups and all Member States.
The militarization of NATO's eastern flank is the most visible sign of a new phase of the military alliance. Our new brochure, "360°-NATO: Mobilization on all Fronts" shows the impact of recent NATO-missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya, NATOs involvement in the Ukraine and Syria and describes the new Strategies in times of Cyberwar and the dawn of a new cold war with russia.
Debating Europe asked Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from all sides of the political spectrum to stake out their positions on this question. Here is the answer from Sabine Lösing:
Internet news service Science|Business reports on the new EU military R&D programme (sciencebusiness.net/news/80101/Commission-confirms-the-aim-of-new-EU-military-R-and-D-programme-is-to-develop-home-grown-weapons): "The Commission’s plans faced resistance from Sabine Lösing, a German far-left MEP who said, “I don’t think we can accept an industry-led programme” ...
German GUE/NGL group shadow rapporteur Sabine Lösing was also against the report, saying, "We utterly rejected the report on a European defence union, because it demands a preparatory action on EU defence research and a fully EU-funded defence research programme, stronger EU-Nato cooperation and the establishment of a start-up fund for preparatory activities.
Yesterday the European Parliament voted in favour of plans which would cut through red tape and allow NATO forces to be deployed quicker in the event of a crisis and bolster defences against Russian aggression in eastern Europe. But Sabine Lösing, an MEP who represents Lower Saxony, told Mail Online: 'Britain was the brake. Here in the European Parliament that was very clear and I have seen them block it.
The british newspaper Daily Mail covers the plenary debate in Strasbourg on the report on the Implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy:: "Mr Paet said there are occasions when armed forces might want to fly the EU flag, rather than the NATO standard. He pointed out recent French-led operations in the Central African Republic and Mali. But his report was criticised by Sabine Lösing, from the Left-wing Die Linke party in Germany, and Takis Hadjigeorgiou, of Akel, the former communist party in Cyprus.
Issue No. 440 of "Research Europe" (3 November 2016) covers the EUs plans to use EU funding for defence research: "A petition against a €90-million preparatory action that will start in 2017 gained 63,000 signatures ahead of a European Parliament vote on the budget on 26 October. Its organiser Laëtitia Sédou, programme officer at the European Network Against Arms Trade, said there had been limited public discussion on EU funding for military research ...
The EU, once founded as a civil union, is showing its military side more and more. Armies, armament and wars are most commonly associated with the United States and NATO, while the military aspect of the EU and its implication in the world’s crisis are hardly noticed or known by the public.
We, members of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament, are seriously concerned about the facts of the systematic anti-democratic persecution in Ukraine. On September the 4 2016 right-wing radicals attacked "Inter" TV channel. The channel's office was burned by nationalists, only a miracle helped to avoid human casualties.
The GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament is fully supporting the Union for military neutrality of Montenegro in its demand to be neutral and to not join NATO. We stand together in the fight against more militarisation and warmongering.
According to Euranetplus, Federica Mogherini’s ‘Mission Impossible’ is to make a big splash in the world with a slim foreign affairs budget and starved defence funds. Mogherini is preparing an EU global strategy for foreign and security policy, to be presented in the next months, she must maximise a small budget for a massive task.
