The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does not guarantee the solution to all security problems in Europe.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell announced on his Twitter page the Strategic Compass for a stronger EU security and defense, adopted by the European Council.
“The current hostile environment requires a quantum leap forward. With EU Foreign and Defence Ministers, we just approved the Strategic Compass. The Compass gives us an ambitious plan for action for a stronger EU security and defence for the next decade.” Borell wrote.
The purpose of the Strategic Compass is to guide the development of the EU security and defense agenda for the next decade to deal with the full range of threats and challenges we face. According to Borell, the EU worked on it for years.
The Strategic Compass gives an ambitious plan of action for strengthening the EU's security and defense policy by 2030.
The Strategic Compass provides a shared assessment of the strategic environment in which the EU is operating and of the threats and challenges the Union faces. The document makes concrete and actionable proposals, with a very precise timetable for implementation, in order to improve the EU's ability to act decisively in crises and to defend its security and its citizens.
The Compass covers all the aspects of the security and defense policy and is structured around four pillars: act, invest, partner and secure.
The strength of our Union lies in unity, solidarity, and determination. The objective of the Strategic Compass is to make the EU a stronger and more capable security provider. The EU needs to be able to protect its citizens and to contribute to international peace and security. This is all the more important at a time when war has returned to Europe, following the unjustified and unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as of major geopolitical shifts. This Strategic Compass will enhance the EU’s strategic autonomy and its ability to work with partners to safeguard its values and interests.
The text of the statement on the adoption of the Strategic Compass states that a stronger and more capable EU in security and defense will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, which remains the foundation of collective defense for its members. It will also intensify support for the global rules-based order, with the United Nations at its core.
"The threats are rising and the cost of inaction is clear. The Strategic Compass is a guide for action. It sets out an ambitious way forward for our security and defence policy for the next decade. It will help us face our security responsibilities, in front of our citizens and the rest of the world. If not now, then when?" said Borrell.