Statement of JEF Finland’s General Assembly
Global and regional foreign and security policy challenges require the European Union to act in a unified way and to be able to respond quickly. Yet the EU has faced significant challenges in acting effectively within an international political system that is increasingly defined by great powers such as the United States and China. JEF Finland’s General Assembly convened on 27-28 November 2021 and demands that the EU strengthen its global capacity to act by creating a unified foreign and security policy.
“The EU’s foreign policy is coloured by compromises and internal processes. In the future, the EU’s foreign and security policy needs a unified line, a sharp vision and a functioning external action service to ensure the EU’s capacity to act on the world stage”, comments Risto Rajala, elected as JEF Finland’s President for 2022.
The EU’s common foreign and security policy was created in 1992 through the Maastricht Treaty. The Union’s foreign policy resources have since been strengthened through further treaties, the most significant being the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in 2009. Under that treaty, the EU established its own external action service and strengthened the role of the High Representative. The High Representative represents the EU in external relations and ensures the consistency of the Union’s foreign policy. The current High Representative is Josep Borrell, who took office in 2019. With this treaty, member states also committed to speaking with one voice in foreign policy.
“The EU has what it takes to be a strong actor in foreign policy and to promote its values globally through it. However, the EU’s current foreign policy capacity is inefficient, due to the Union’s difficulties in reconciling member states’ differing objectives. The EU should move from requiring unanimity to qualified majority voting on decisions concerning foreign and security policy. This would strengthen the EU’s ability to respond more quickly and credibly to foreign policy events”, Rajala adds.
The goal of the EU’s common foreign and security policy is to safeguard the Union’s shared values, preserve peace, strengthen security, and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law. To achieve these goals, the Union’s foreign policy includes political, economic and legal instruments, as well as military and civilian crisis management tools.
“The crisis in Afghanistan showed this autumn how the EU’s current military and civilian crisis management tools are not sufficient. The evacuation of EU citizens from Afghanistan was entirely dependent on support from the United States. It is extremely important that the EU be able to act militarily in similar operations in the future, even without the United States. The EU should establish a federal-level army made up of rapid-response active forces and the Union’s reserves”, states Rajala.