Western Balkans

· Consider that a steady integration of the Western Balkans into the fabric of the EU’s values, pro-cesses and structures remains the key objective of EU enlargement policy. The obligation to main-tain the credibility of enlargement policy remains a joint responsibility of decision-makers acrossthe EU and the Western Balkan countries. The EU, its Member States and the accession countriesmust reinforce their commitment, as the processes of accession and the EU’s internal reformshould go hand in hand in order to reinforce each other.

· Highlight that reducing EU integration to a mere technocratic and economic process risks under-mining its foundations, namely democratisation, the rule of law and media freedom; urge to im-mediately address undemocratic tendencies, including state and media capture and overcomingremaining divides, thus achieving genuine ethnical, political and (inter-) national reconciliation,with the Prespa Agreement being a standard-setting example.

Hybrid Threats

· Commend the hybrid Centre of Excellence (CoE) for its valuable contribution to sharing bestpractices, building capability, testing new ideas and exercising defence against hybrid threats; callon the Commission and the High Representative to lead the work on countering hybrid threatsand on developing hybrid responses, and to provide appropriate support to the CoE for all itsmissions.

· Call on the Commission and the High Representative to make hybrid risk surveys a standard toolin the EU’s external action, and in particular where the EU invests abroad in peace, security anddevelopment or where Member States’ security and defence forces are being deployed; underlinethe need for the EU to remain a source for reliable information and for fact-based assessments,and to provide appropriate assistance to those affected by disinformation and blackmail.

Iran

· Strongly reaffirm the EU’s continued commitment to preserving the Joint Comprehensive Planof Action (JCPoA) as a key element for regional and global security. We urge Iran to return tofull JCPoA compliance, to remain in the agreement, and to make sure that the Iranian nuclearprogramme remains peaceful. We welcome the fact that the Instrument in Support of Trade Ex-changes (INSTEX) with Iran is now operational, as it enables the continuation of legitimate tradewith Iran.

· Call for a regional solution for Iran's ballistic missiles programme to avoid further escalation; callfor urgent restraint and de-escalation of tensions in the whole Middle East, in order to preservethe political stability of countries of the region.

· Welcome and support the regional initiatives on maritime security that will contribute to de-es-calate and to rebuild trust and understanding among the main actors. Freedom of navigation mustbe respected at all times.

11 DE OUTUBRO DE 2019______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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