Ensuring the security of the European Union is no longer a technical issue requiring bureaucratic adjustments. Together with a return to growth, security is the major political challenge facing Europeans. Instability in neighbouring countries now has profound effects on the entire Union. No Member State can assume it is safe from terrorist attacks or exempt from providing a responsible operational response to the inflow of refugees, and no less that it is not exposed to the short- and mid-term fallout of economic collapse in several EU neighbour countries. Unilateral measures taken by Member States are insufficient given the scope of the challenges at hand.

The High Representative, Federica Mogherini will be presenting an “EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy” by June 2016. But the ambitions driving the strategic rethink risks to be weakened by political compromises, even more so in the lead-up to the Brexit referendum result on 23 June and the presentation of NATO’s new Strategic Concept in July 2016.

In this Tribune entitled “EU Security: a matter of political urgency”, Jacques Delors, Pascal Lamy, António Vitorino, Eneko Landaburu, Elisabeth Guigou, Etienne Davignon, Nicole Gnesotto, Philippe de Schoutheete, Elvire Fabry, Nicole Koenig and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, call European capitals to demonstrate the necessary political will to respond to the threats faced. Europeans must form a united political front based on a ranking of priorities in the short and medium term and launch concrete political initiatives which, coordinated within a global approach, must aim to:

1. Provide greater assistance in the fight against Daesh;
2. Develop a mid-term Syria strategy;
3. Stand firm and united both “with and up to” Russia;
4. Provide an immediate response to the migrant crisis;
5. Deepen and expand cooperation in the area of security.

This Tribune is also available in href=”https://www.institutdelors.eu/01122536-La-securite-de-lUE-une-urgence-politique.html” target=””>French and German.