At the end of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, which was one of the most important events of the parliamentary dimension of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, its participants adopted the summarising conclusions which reflect the Conference’s focus on the conflict in Syria, the reinforcement of the Eastern Partnership, EU energy security and relations with its strategic partners, as well as its policy in the area of security and defence.

The participants of the Conference hope that the Conclusions will be debated at the December European Council.

The Conclusions of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference express deep concern about the on-going conflict in Syria and note that the European Union must have a more pro-active approach in resolving the ensuing problems of the humanitarian disaster. Having expressed its concern over the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the Conference said it was a crime against humanity that should be condemned in the strongest terms and needed a strong international response; it stressed the responsibility of the international community, the United Nations Security Council in particular, to hold the perpetrators against humanity accountable for such crimes and to take appropriate measures to prevent such crimes from being repeated in the future.

The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China, were called on to undertake responsibility in unblocking the UN Security Council and to achieve a common position on the Syrian conflict.

The chapter on the importance of the Eastern Partnership contains the view that the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit in November should open the door to closer political association and economic integration with the countries willing to get closer to the EU. The participants agreed about the need of the unanimous EU response to the political and economic pressure applied by the Russian Federation on the Eastern Partnership countries while the sovereign right of those states to pursue their path towards the EU should be respected.

As for energy security, the Conclusions underpin the significance of ensuring coherence between the EU’s foreign and energy policies by reducing energy dependence on third countries, especially those countries that do not share or respect fundamental EU values or where there is a risk that energy resources will be used as an instrument to undermine the EU’s foreign policy objectives.

The chapter on the security and defence policy deals with closer cooperation and coordination in defence capabilities between EU Members and cooperation between the EU and NATO in using defence capabilities.

The Conference also welcomed the start of negotiations between the EU and the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and underlined that strategic partnership should be based on a common vision and a commitment to democracy and human rights.

The Conclusions of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy are available on the webpage of the parliamentary dimension of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU www.eu2013.lrs.lt.

Asta Markevičienė, Public Relations Unit, tel. +370 5 239 6202, e-mail: [email protected]