EU foreign and security policy: Commission responds to Committee's report

13 Apr 2016 01:36 PM

The EU External Affairs Sub-Committee has received a response from the High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission to its report, Europe in the world: Towards a more effective EU foreign and security strategy, which was published on 16 February 2016.

Background

The Committee has been investigating the effectiveness, strengths and weaknesses of the EU's foreign and security policy, in anticipation of the new strategy to be published by the European Union's High Representative on Foreign Affairs later this year.

The report concludes that the EU needs to concentrate on tackling insecurity and instability in its immediate neighbourhood, and not overstretch itself trying to fix too many problems at once. It  emphasises that the responsibility for foreign policy rests with the Member States. The aim of the new strategy must be to provide the framework within which they can operate collectively to tackle threats to the security and stability of the Union.

The response

The letter from High Representative, Federica Mogherini, states that many elements of the Committee’s report “chime very closely with the themes of the draft EU Global Strategy”. She supports the recommendation of the Committee that the EU’s wider neighbourhood should be “a priority” of the strategy, and for greater co-operation between the EU and NATO, as well as the need to focus on resources and bolster the Common Security and Defence Policy.

Further information