HRVP Mogherini gave a keynote address on the EU Global
Strategy on foreign and security policy today.
Speaking to a crowd of senior diplomats, foreign
policy analysts and representatives of civil society and NGOs, Mogherini
stressed the importance of a common European strategy to keep citizens safe and
guide EU action in times of uncertainty:
"No country alone can carry the weight of the
world on its shoulders".
In a world that is increasingly connected, contested
and complex, Mogherini underlined the importance of strong principles to guide
EU action: engagement, responsibility and partnership. "We need to
stay rational and think strategically", she said speaking in Paris,
"turning inwards is not an option. Our citizens understand very well that
unless we find common European solutions to joint threats, such as terrorism,
we cannot address today's most pressing problems".
French Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, also
addressed the conference stressing that in a world that is rapidly changing we
cannot go on as before: "we need to do more and better" in the
European Union. Ayrault underlined that the EU's Common and Security Policy is
already making an important contribution to keeping EU citizens safe and
resolving conflict around the world.
The conference which was organised by the European
Union Institute for Security Studies and the European External Action
Service as part of the public consultation on the EU Global Strategy addressed some of the
core questions at stake from how best to address common challenges such
as migration and climate change and what can be done to prevent conflict and
keep citizens safe. Relations with China and Russia were also discussed.
A core
theme of the discussions was that in a world where the consequences of conflict
elsewhere can have an impact on our everyday lives, foreign policy is
about everybody. The strategy would therefore be for the whole of the European
Union: Member States, institutions and especially its citizens.
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