The European Parliament,

A. having regard to its previous resolutions on the subject,

B. having regard to the problems which have arisen under the Netherlands presidency, in the context of the latest talks on political union,

C. believing that recent events in Yugoslavia have made the development of common defence policies more urgent,

D. having regard to the urgent need for approximation of viewpoints which remain divergent, before the European Council in Maastricht,

E. recalling the undertaking of the Member States at the Rome European Council in December 1990 to work towards the establishment of a common foreign and security policy,

F. warmly welcoming recent developments which have led to the United States and subsequently the Soviet Union announcing courageous moves towards unilateral disarmament, thereby creating a positive synergy in terms of a reduction in arms and military expenditure,

1. Regrets the fact that the absence of specific competences has resulted in the Community's action over the Yugoslav crisis failing to be sufficiently effective;

2. Notes that the political developments in Central and Eastern Europe have further confirmed the need for the Community to devise and implement a common foreign and security policy;

3. Requests that the components of a common and autonomous defence capability of the Twelve be established within the framework of the common foreign and security policy so as to enable the Community to assume its responsibilities in matters of common concern to the Member States and play its due role in world affairs;

4. Considers that, particularly in the light of the very latest developments, the common foreign and security policy must cover joint arms production and marketing activities;

5. Reaffirms the need for Parliament to participate in the definition and control of the common foreign and security policy;

6. Calls on the Maastricht European Council to define the principle of Community competence with respect to a common foreign and security policy as an integral part of the future treaty on political union, while having due regard to the specific requirements of Member States;

7. Reiterates its conviction that during a transitional period the WEU must be given certain security and defence responsibilities under the political control of the European Council and that on the expiry of the Treaty of Brussels, the WEU must be integrated in Political Union;

8. Stresses its firm conviction that the common foreign and security policy must be managed by common institutions, notably on the basis of the following principles:

- the Commission shall be given powers of initiative and a function of external representation;

- the Council shall vote by qualified majority;

- Council decisions shall be legally binding;

- Parliament shall be fully involved in drawing up the policy and in monitoring its implementation;

9. Notes the recent proposals by President Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl which, while responding to the desire for greater autonomy on the part of the Community in questions of security and defence policy, do not call into question the importance of the Atlantic Alliance;

10. Believes that this Intergovernmental Conference should be concerned with opening up a security policy dimension for the Community and with defining the role of the Community's institutions in determining and implementing this policy; refers in this connection to its resolution of 10 October 1991 on the Intergovernmental Conference on Political UnionPart II, Item 11 of that day's minutes;

11. Stresses that the creation of a military component in the Community is such an important decision as to require the greatest possible measure of democratic legitimacy and that the decision can therefore only be taken in the context of a conference of representatives of governments pursuant to Article 236 of the EEC Treaty by unanimous decision of the governments and with the approval of a majority of the Members of the European Parliament;

12. Calls for the Community to speak with one voice on international bodies, and for due account to be taken of the common foreign and security policy with regard to diplomatic representation in third countries;

13. Calls for any future enlargements of the Community not to be used as grounds for watering down the objective of a common foreign and security policy;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the intergovernmental conference on political union and to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.