European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
New term, new EU foreign policy?
euractiv – As a new EU leadership term is set to begin by the end of this year, a new report has called for a ‘reboot’ of EU foreign policy.“The EU is struggling, the EU is losing ground and that’s true when it comes to competitiveness, but it’s also true, we believe, in the area of foreign policy,” Steven Everts, EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) director, said.
“Essentially, that is a failure to adapt at a scale that is required because the international environment is worsening at a far more rapid pace than the EU was so far able to cope with,” Everts, who has been a former adviser to EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell, said. The report, titled ‘10 Ideas for the New Team, has now called for a rethink of how the bloc conducts its foreign policy, including a change in working methods and a different approach to key partnerships.
While Ukraine would remain the most pressing security issue for Europe, proposals include rethinking outdated frameworks like the European Neighbourhood Policy, adopting more tailored partnerships in the South, especially in the Mediterranean, strengthening energy resilience, and a realistic approach to the EU’s limited influence over China and Russia.
The report also calls for the EU to counter Russian influence in the East “by increasing its power of attraction” and developing a radical new eastern policy that would upgrade the current Eastern Partnership framework and speed up the gradual integration of candidate countries, the report says.A key recommendation is to adapt the EU’s way of working, in which the think tank suggests an overhaul of its security policies by integrating areas like energy, migration, and defence under a cohesive strategy.
“A proposal would be to make the [EU’s top diplomat] act as a sort of national security adviser to fellow European leaders, as you have in the US system, as you have in many European systems,” Everts said.This would include briefing leaders and presenting policy packages, he added.The report also argues the bloc would need a “council for the defence of Europe” composed of EU leaders, for which the first day at every EU summit would be set aside to deal with security issues.
It also calls for a rethink of the EU’s civilian and military missions abroad, which, over the past years, have been seen as having little impact. This would mean fewer missions and operations overall but more focus on candidate countries and wider neighbourhood partners.However, the EU’s diplomatic service (EEAS) has long struggled with budget management, capacity, and member states jealously guarding their interests when it comes to foreign policy.
EU officials say the financial squeeze could even worsen next year, potentially impacting the bloc’s existing diplomatic presence in areas such as Africa and Latin America.The services’ secretary-general, Stefano Sannino, earlier this year had warned the agency was “heavily under-budgeted”.Asked whether he thinks it would be possible for the next EU team to do more with less, Everts called the imposed restraints “shortsighted”.
“If we’re then going to cut or close delegations in other parts of the world, we will diminish our ability to defend our interests,” he said.
