Europe in the world: Towards a more effective EU foreign and security strategy

The EU External Affairs Sub-Committee of the House of Lords EU Select Committee published its report into the EU foreign and security strategy in February 2016. The report said that the EU needed to concentrate its resources on its immediate neighbourhood, and urgently re-think its policy on Turkey.

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 in 2016.

The report concluded that the EU needed to concentrate on tackling insecurity and instability in its immediate neighbourhood, and not overstretch itself trying to fix too many problems at once. It emphasised that the responsibility for foreign policy rested 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.

• Primary Source

UK: Parliament: Parliamentary Business: Committees: House of Lords: EU Committee: News, 16.02.16: Report on EU foreign and security strategy published http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-external-affairs-subcommittee/news-parliament-2015/strategic-review-report-publication/

ESO: Key Source: European Union Global Strategy http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-union-global-strategy/

ESO: Background information: Common Foreign And Security Policy [What Think Tanks Are Thinking] http://www.europeansources.info/record/common-foreign-and-security-policy-what-think-tanks-are-thinking/

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