October 10. 2024. 6:11

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New term, new EU foreign policy?


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  • A think tank report that could be Kallas’ new to-do list
  • NATO’s shortfalls on Ukraine, according to Stoltenberg
  • Draghi’s omittance of enlargement

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While Ukraine would remain the most pressing security issue for Europe, proposals include rethinking outdated frameworks like the European Neighbourhood Policy, adopting more tailored partnerships in the South, especially in the Mediterranean, strengthening energy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.


EU IN THE WORLD

FROZEN ASSETS | The European Commission presented member states with options for extending the timeframe of the bloc’s sanction regime against Russia, aiming to unblock a Russian frozen assets deal to frontload $50 billion in funding to Ukraine. However, an agreement on the matter looks far off.

IRAN MISSILES | In response to the transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia, the EU said it had presented member states with options to take “a substantial set of decisive and targeted measures” against Tehran.

DEFENCE BRIEFING

NATO’s SHORTFALL | NATO could have done much more to make Ukraine ready to try and prevent Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, its outgoing chief, Jens Stoltenberg, told a German newspaper. Best bits:

“Now we are providing military equipment for the war — back then, we could have provided military equipment to prevent the war,” Stoltenberg said.

“To end this war, there will have to be again dialogue with Russia at a certain stage. But it has to be based on Ukrainian strength,” he said in the interview.

RIGHT TO STRIKE | Ukraine has the legal right to strike deep into Russia, Admiral Rob Bauer, who chairs the NATO Military Committee, said over the weekend. “Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” Bauer said.

However, the comments don’t represent a policy shift yet, as Western leaders, including the US and UK, remain hesitant amid continued calls from Kyiv to allow it to strike deeper into Russia.

MOSCOW-BEIJING AXIS | China is providing Russia with “very substantial” military support in exchange for key technological capabilities, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told a group of reporters, including Euractiv, after talks with EU and NATO counterparts.

INDUSTRY WOES |A report drafted by EU defence companies on EU research and innovation funding calls out governments for not supporting projects financially and for a lack of long-term perspective for their projects.

REFORM CALL | The Draghi report this week called for a division of labour across the continent for cash on defence projects of European interest and a buy-European preference as member states mull reforming the bloc’s defence industry.

WIDER EUROPE

REPORT OMMITANCE | While Draghi’s 400-page report on Europe’s competitiveness included plenty of ideas on how to restart the bloc’s economy, it disregarded one issue which is expected to be one of the bloc’s key priorities for the next five years: enlargement. The report merely brushed upon its impact on the bloc’s economic clout, mentioning it in relation to transport networks and stronger collaboration with Ukraine’s defence industry.

“This highlights a lack of systematic consideration for the next EU enlargement and creates a gap in strategic planning on how the EU could best prepare and leverage through its enlargement to enhance its competitiveness,” Tinatin Akhvlediani, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) told Euractiv.

“Although the recommendations on boosting EU’s innovation capacity and strengthening EU defence policy will contribute to preparing the Union for the next enlargement, there is still a gap in considering candidate countries and their gradual integration, which could further boost EU competitiveness and make the EU as the stronger player at the global market,” she said.

In contrast, Letta’s report looked much closer at what impact future EU accession could have on the bloc and proposed a new fund to compensate for imbalances.

TRANSATLANTIC WATCH

DEBATE CLASH | While the first US presidential debate between US Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump ended up producing a lot of memorable memes, both did not offer Western allies a clear plan of how they would aim to solve the global crisis when in office.

ECONOMIC TIES | As Europe is looking on how to ramp up its competitiveness, some ideas are expected to influence how the bloc will approach transatlantic economic ties over the next five years.


WHAT ELSE WE’RE READING

  • Don’t Ask the U.S. Military to Save American Democracy [Foreign Affairs]
  • The Art of Punishing Putin [Foreign Policy]

ON OUR RADAR NEXT WEEK

  • EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell in UAE
    | Mo-Tue, 16-17 September 2024 | United Arab Emirates
  • European Commission President von der Leyen to present new team (TBC)
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | Strasbourg, France
  • European Parliament plenary session on continued financial and military support to Ukraine by EU member states
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | Strasbourg, France
  • European Parliament plenary session on Gaza and the situation in the Middle East
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | Strasbourg, France
  • C5+1 meeting with Central Asian leaders
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | Almaty, Kazakhstan
  • Donors’ Conference for Moldova
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | Chisinau, Moldova
  • European ministers meet as part of ‘Berlin Process’ with Western Balkan states
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | Berlin, Germany
  • UN General Assembly special session, vote on Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
    | Tuesday, 17 September 2024 | New York, United States
  • Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to address European Parliament
    | Wednesday, 18 September 2024 | Strasbourg, France
  • Enlargement Commissioner Várhelyi attends working lunch with Western Balkan leaders
    | Thursday, 19 September 2024 | Brussels, Belgium
  • China’s commerce minister Wentao holds talks with Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis on EV tariffs
    | Thursday, 19 September 2024 | Brussels, Belgium
  • Summit of the Future on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
    | Sunday, 22 September 2024 | New York, United States

PREVIOUS EDITIONS

  • The Trials of the Next Enlargement Commissioner
  • What’s Brewing For The EU’s Foreign Policy Rentrée

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