GEOPE - “Geopolitical Europe: Are the EU Member-states Ready for It?”
GEOPE - “Geopolitical Europe: are the EU member-states ready for it?” – is an international project seeking to propose feasible paths for compromises and coalition-building between the EU member-states towards a more coherent EU Common Foreign and Security policy.
The project has three main goals:
- To foster dialogue between researchers, experts and public administrations in order to enhance the governance of the EU.
- To encourage more interest and understanding among the general public in the EU’s decision-making processes.
- To develop proposals for a more effective and coherent European Foreign and Security Policy
Why is it important to review the European Foreign and Security Policy?
The ever more competitive international environment, mounting political, economic and health crises within the European Union, coupled with the departure of its second-largest economy, present a challenging baseline for any Brussels Leadership.
In the opening statement to the European Parliament, the President of the “geopolitical” European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Europe should have a stronger and more united voice in the world – and it needs to act fast. In order to achieve that, there needs to be a strategic vision for the further development of the European Project and its role in the world and, not the least, the political will and commitment of the member-states.
One of the main obstacles to a more coherent EU foreign and security policy is the existing divisions within Europe, which are being driven, among others, by political ideologies, national agendas, regional peculiarities, and differences of threat perception. If the EU aspires to play an active role in world affairs, member states should be more prone to compromise to better harmonize their voices and actions.
How we will do it?
By establishing a multi-stakeholder platform of academics, experts, civil society and media representatives, multi-partisan decision-makers from all regions of the European Union and immediate neighbourhood (Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership associated countries). We will organise workshops with foreign policy experts and a series of expert roundtables with participation of the platform representatives and experts from the EU and non-EU states.
We will publish several policy papers and op-eds related to the topic, including a final report “Geopolitical Europe: are the EU member-states ready for it?” which will be presented to relevant stakeholders.
In total, the GEOPE project consists of 8 activities with 14 directly connected outputs, 3 outcomes and sustainable impact regarding a more coherent foreign and security policy of the EU and the European role in the global affairs.
This GLOBSEC project is supported by Jean Monnet Activities of the EU Programme Erasmus+ and will be implemented between 1 September 2020 – 31 March 2022.
Team
Vladislava Gubalova, Acting Head of Future of Europe Programme
Kinga Brudzinska, Senior Research Fellow, Future of Europe Programme
