European Strategy in the 21st Century: New Future for Old Power (Routledge Studies in European Security and Strategy)

by Sven Biscop

In June 2015, the European Council (the Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States) tasked the current High Representative, the Italian Federica Mogherini, with the writing of a new strategy. Mogherini made it clear from the start that a different, more pragmatic approach was necessary. “We need a strategy to protect proactively our interests, keeping in mind that promoting our values is an integral part of our interests”, is how she put it at a conference that launched the consultation process on the future strategy in October 2015 (Mogherini, 2015). Interests clearly no longer was a dirty word.