Carl Bildt, Stockholm

Only if it stands united can Europe pursue its interests Plea for a European Global Strategy

by Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm

Europe’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is on the agenda of the European Council meeting in December. The discussions will undoubtedly be of importance. They will help define how the EU Member States should proceed in their mission to build strong and effective cooperation in the security and defence area, and ultimately to promote human rights and peace in the world.

Thinking about the EU’s future role But the EU will not be able to make much progress unless it starts defining a common strategic framework to help it navigate a more complex world. Therefore, in July 2012, I joined with my foreign minister colleagues from Italy, Spain and Poland to launch a think-tank process aimed at generating debate about the EU’s future strategic role. We are united by a simple rationale: global actors do, from time to time, discuss and review their foreign policy strategies. The US does. China does. And so does NATO. Many EU Member States do so on a national basis. The EU – if it is serious about its claim to be a global actor – should, and might even be expected to, do the same. In the EU, with the help of the relevant independent actors, we should develop a European Global Strategy.

Taking into account the full range of challenges… In 2003, the European Security Strategy (ESS) was adopted. It was a good document. It has provided European external action with practical guidelines. But the world has moved on significantly since 2003. We have entered a period of profound transformations – in geopolitics, the economy and technology. The Security Strategy now seems too narrow to grasp the full range of challenges and opportunities facing the world as we know it and as it might be looking a decade ahead. The collective weight – and possibly also influence – of the EU Member States is diminishing. We are competing globally with other economies, ideas and models of society. Others are catching up and soft power competition appears to be increasing. The ongoing economic crisis and ever-accelerating globalisation pose an unprecedented dual challenge for Europe. The countries of Europe will only be able to uphold their values and successfully pursue their interests if we stand united.

… and internal developments within the EU Not only has the world moved on. The EU has changed fundamentally as well. Since 2003, the EU has enlarged. As this issue of the magazine highlights, it has adopted the Lisbon

Carl Bildt has been Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden since 2006. He was born in July 1949 in Halmstad. Mr Bildt earned his degree at Stockholm University and started his political career as a student. In 1979 he became a member of the Riksdag and was, among other political appointments, party leader of the Moderate Party from 1986-1999 and Prime Minister from 1991-1994. Mr Bildt was actively engaged in the nation-building and peace process in Eastern Europe as The European Union Section 1s Special Representative for Former Yugoslavia, Co-Chair of the Dayton Peace Talks on Former Yugoslavia, as the UN SecretaryGeneral Section 1s Special Envoy for the Balkans and the High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina for reconstruction and the peace implementation process.

Treaty. The Treaty led to the establishment of the European External Action Service with a consequent need for a mission statement. The time has come to engage in a new strategic discussion, taking into account these immense changes. We need a more comprehensive and integrated approach to all components of the EU’s global profile, doing away with the artificial distinction between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ security. We need a common strategic approach to energy security, climate negotiations, the management of migration flows and cyber issues –to name just a few themes among many possible ones.

The way forward Needless to say, we must think more broadly and creatively, bringing in all aspects of the EU as an external actor. But we cannot be so vague and ambitious so as to become irrelevant. We should not produce a revision of the 2003 document, nor a repeat of the 2008 update exercise. The process is important – a strategic debate is almost as important as a strategic document. Because it will help us use the instruments and institutions in a way that promotes the values, interests and goals of the European Union and benefits its Member States, citizens and taxpayers. Because it will allow the EU to strengthen its position on the world stage while becoming more of a driving force.

There are many possible ways to proceed in the development of the European Global Strategy. The European Council meeting in December could be one opportunity for starting a more formal process. Only a long-term global strategy will prepare the European Union for the global century.