EU in a changing global environment: what next for EU’s neighbours

The European Council on Foreign Relations in cooperation with Sofia Platform and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria organises an international round table discussion “The EU in a changing global environment: What next for EU’s Neighbours” with think-tank representatives in the framework of EU’s Global Foreign Policy Strategy Review and the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy. More that 40 experts from 14 neighbouring countries will participate in the discussion and have the opportunity to share their points of view with Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The discussion is framed in four panels dedicated to the Black Sea region, EU’s Global Strategy Review, the Western Balkans and energy in the Wider Europe region.

The review of the European Security Strategy of 2003 has started a long-awaited process that has been called for by practitioners and analysts alike. Since 2003, the EU’s strategic environment has changed dramatically. The challenges we face vary both geographically and in their nature, be them climate change, cyber security, scarcity of natural resources, hybrid wars, ethnic and religious conflicts or migration. With the launch of the EU’s Global Foreign Policy Review, an even bigger challenge is still standing – to guide the process accordingly and avoid its derailment in the sense of an ever-widening scope (i.e. attempting to address all issues and as a result fail to focus on those of immediate and pressing significance). Indeed, in 2015 we face a Europe that is “more connected, more contested and more complex”, butthe reality remains that Europe needs first and foremost to take care of its neighbourhood, not only for the sake of its own security, but also for the sake of paying its dues to the transatlantic partnership. Following this rationale, the Western Balkans, Turkey and the Eastern Neighbourhood should be in the core of the review. In order to contribute to the process, ECFR and Sofia Platform are jointly hosting think tanks from neighbouring regions, in order to feed into the review processes of the Global Foreign Policy Strategy and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).