The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET, after the French name ‘Affaires étrangères’), previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for the common foreign, security, and defence policy of the European Union, as well as relations with other European and international institutions, strengthening relations with third countries, the accession of new member states, and human rights.[1] During the Ninth European Parliament (2019–2024), the committee has 79 members and is chaired by David McAllister from Germany.[2]
The committee has two subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE).
Members
As of 12 April 2022, the 79 members of the committee are:[3]
Chairpersons
| Chairperson | Term start | Term end | Group | State | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Emilio Colombo | July 1979 | April 1980 | EPP | Italy | |
 | Mariano Rumor | April 1980 | July 1984 | EPP | Italy | |
 | Roberto Formigoni | July 1984 | January 1987 | EPP | Italy | |
| Sergio Ercini | January 1987 | July 1989 | EPP | Italy | ||
 | Giovanni Goria | July 1989 | February 1991 | EPP | Italy | |
 | Maria Luisa Cassanmagnago | February 1991 | January 1992 | EPP | Italy | |
.jpg){kind=small} | Enrique Barón | January 1992 | July 1994 | SOC | Spain | |
.jpg){kind=small} | Abel Matutes | July 1994 | January 1997 | EPP | Spain | |
| Tom Spencer | January 1997 | July 1999 | EPP | United Kingdom | ||
 | Elmar Brok | July 1999 | February 2007 | EPP | Germany | |
_(cropped).jpg){kind=small} | Jacek Saryusz-Wolski | February 2007 | July 2009 | EPP | Poland | |
 | Gabriele Albertini | July 2009 | December 2012 | EPP | Italy | |
| | Elmar Brok | December 2012 | 18 January 2017 | EPP | Germany | |
 | David McAllister | 24 January 2017 | Incumbent | EPP | Germany | |
| Source (1979–2007): Corbett, Richard; Jacobs, Francis; Shackleton, Michael (2007), The European Parliament (7th ed.), London: John Harper, p. 151, ISBN 978-0-9551144-7-2 | ||||||
Relations with Central Asia
The Committee on Foreign Affairs has established strong cooperation with Kazakhstan, Central Asia's most prosperous country, through regular visits and meetings. The European Parliament and Kazakhstan hold annual meetings of Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.[4]