EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels today (12 July) discussed the EU ‘Strategic Compass’. EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that it was both an important and controversial initiative, adding: “I don't care if it is controversial, I prefer to have controversies than indifferences.”
It is the first time the foreign ministers, rather than defence ministers, will have discussed this project together which aims to strengthen the EU’s crisis management, resilience, partnerships and capabilities.
Strategic Compass is considered by the European External Action Service (EEAS) as one of the most important and ambitious projects in the field of EU security and defence. It is hoped that it can be finalized by March 2022, with a draft presented in November. It is hoped that EU states will provide clear political-strategic guidance on what they want the EU to achieve in this area in the next 5 to 10 years.
It is hoped that it will help guide the use of all the instruments the EU has at its disposal, including the recently established European Peace Facility. It aims to enhance the effectiveness of the EU’s operational engagement and collective readiness to react to crises.
