European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
EU debates when to unveil its new security strategy
euractiv ـ The EU is debating whether to unveil its new security strategy before or after the July NATO summit
The EU’s diplomatic wing is circulating a so-called “scoping paper” among EU countries outlining their work on the future European Security Strategy and requesting feedback, three EU officials told Euractiv. However, there are disagreements over when to publish the final version of the new strategy.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen initially teased the future Security Strategy in January, saying it would allow the EU to understand the current “geopolitical changes” and give an appropriate response. A final version of the strategy was loosely planned for the first half of 2026.
Now, EU foreign ministers are set to discuss the scoping paper on Monday, 16 March, with the aim of giving feedback to the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) and informing its work on the future strategy.
The exact time of the strategy’s publication, however, is less clear, an EU source told Euractiv.
“The discussion is whether it will be published before or after the NATO summit in Ankara on 7-8 July,” the source added.
The NATO summit will be crucial for Europeans, who have pledged to spend 5% of their national GDPs on defence. EU members of the Western military alliance are under pressure from their NATO ally the United States to bolster their own defences and stop relying so heavily on security guarantees from Washington.
A second source familiar with the EU’s scoping paper said it asked member states how the EU could reduce strategic dependencies affecting its security.
The Commission in January said the new strategy would go beyond mere defence and include other strategic sectors, such as chips, cybersecurity and raw materials, reflecting the ongoing talks about de-risking from Washington and Beijing.
Other questions included in the document centre on how the EU should continue to promote multilateralism and a rules-based international order, while adopting a “principled pragmatism” to defend its interests.
Principle pragmatism was first theorised by the EEAS as the guiding principle of the EU’s foreign policy. The discussion over the matter has gained further weight for the bloc, amid fears that the Trump administration is attempting to bypass international law.
European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
