The European Institute of Romania is pleased to announce its contribution to the debate on the European Global Strategy, entitled “Towards a European Global Strategy, through Coordinated Regional Approaches”, available here.
The paper argues that the EGS should seek to put to work those elements that define EU’s raison d’être in terms of core values and interests and those areas where Europeans can bring a positive contribution: respect for human rights, rule of law, territorial security and increased responsibility towards the neighbourhood. These elements should also be present in the debate on the future review of the ESS. The EU should further seek to expand the areas where it can bring a relevant concrete contribution and maximise its soft power potential, transposed into mediation and civilian capabilities. This involves adopting a predominantly political approach, characterized by flexibility – rather than a purely technical one – towards its Southern and Eastern neighbourhood and enhancing cooperation with other actors in the area, such as Turkey, by favouring regional cooperation formats. Tackling insufficient or limited consultation and cooperation among European member states is part of the problem in reaching a consensus on which policies should be adopted in external action. Consequently, deepened mutual knowledge among member states as to the ambitions of a European global strategy remains crucial.