The report on the new EU Global Strategy adopted with PLATFORMA’s contribution

The European Parliament adopted the report on the new EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy at its April plenary sitting in Strasbourg.
During the debate prior to the adoption of Sandra Kalniete MEP (EPP, Latvia) report, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini emphasized that “there is no security without development but also no security without democracy and human rights”. She also called for “new creative forms of cooperation”.
PLATFORMA successfully lobbied relevant MEPs throughout the drafting process in order to strengthen the local dimension of the report. As a result, the report now recognizes that the solution of global problems, such as terrorism or climate change, requires the involvement of local and regional governments and calls for the incorporation of a “multi-stakeholder approach” in EU partnerships with third countries.
Moreover, the report acknowledges the importance of development cooperation in the new Strategy as well as the need that the EU and its Member States respect the principle of Policy Coherence for Development.
The Global Strategy, which will be presented in June to Member States, aims at achieving a stronger and more effective EU foreign policy. It will replace the 2003 European Security Strategy. Since the latter’s adoption, the EU’s neighborhood has gone through dramatic changes, sparked off by the “Arab Spring” and the Syrian conflict.