10 ideas for the new team

How the EU can navigate a power political world

10 September 2024

Edited by

Steven Everts, Bojana Zorić

With contributions from

Jan Joel Andersson, Ondrej Ditrych, Alice Ekman, Steven Everts, Dalia Ghanem, Amaia Sánchez-Cacicedo, Giuseppe Spatafora, Joris Teer, Lukas Trakimavičius, Bojana Zorić

The EU’s foreign and security policy is in urgent need of a reboot. The EU’s current approach to foreign policy was designed for a world at peace, where multilateralism was strong and global rules and norms were upheld. That world is gone. We now live in an age of contestation and growing geopolitical rivalry where territorial conflicts proliferate and international institutions are in crisis.

In a world of change, the EU’s foreign policy must evolve and adapt to remain effective. To navigate this complex landscape, the EU needs new ways of thinking, working and acting.

The incoming Commission and High Representative have a historic opportunity to reshape the Union’s global role. To help with this pressing task, the EU Institute for Security Studies has come up with ten ideas to propel EU foreign policy forward. We believe it is essential for the new leadership to implement them.