A global Europe: leveraging our power and partnership Overview The world has drastically changed in recent years. Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, the war in Gaza and the emergence of a new league of authoritarians working on sowing division and seeking to create an alternative international order, the more aggressive posture and unfair economic competition from China, are just few of the examples that show the EU needs to be more assertive in pursuing its interests.The European Commission will work to make sure that the EU’s foreign and security policy is fit to tackle the challenges of the world’s current reality. We will defend and promote a rules-based international order and push to strengthen the role of global institutions. This way Europe’s values will be upheld, and Europe will stand strong in a more contested and unstable world.What Europeans think 69%of EU citizens are in favour of a common foreign policy of EU countries67%agree that the EU is a place of stability in a troubled world69%agree the EU has sufficient tools to defend its economic interests in the global economy Objectives Enlarging the European Unionto increase our influence on the global stageFocusing on our wider neighbourhoodto promote peace, partnerships and economic stabilityPursuing a new economic foreign policyto boost our prosperity, trading power, and mutually beneficial partnershipsReforming the international systemto make it fit for today’s world How we will achieve our objectives Enlargement as a geopolitical imperative EU-Western Balkans meeting in Montenegro, October 2024To ensure the EU’s enlargement is in line with the promise we gave in our treaties, we willensure that each country looking to join the EU is assessed on its own progress towards meeting all accession criteria, including those on rule of law and fundamental values, which will continue to be the cornerstones of the EU’s enlargement policystep up support to prepare candidate countries, notably using the investment and reforms in the growth plan for the Western Balkans and the Ukraine Facility A more strategic approach to our neighbourhood Pupils from Kufr Yoba Primary School for Girls in IrbidIn parallel with delivering on enlargement, we will build a more strategic approach to our actions in the EU’s wider neighbourhood bystrengthening our relations with the Mediterranean with a new pact for the Mediterranean. This will focus on investment and partnerships, economic stability, job creation, energy, and security in the regionworking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and an increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gazadelivering an EU-Middle East strategy that will seek to bring a just resolution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and pave the way for a two-state solution to ensure security for both Israelis and Palestinians A new economic foreign policy Container ship in Hamburg harbourFor Europe’s prosperity, we will establish a new economic foreign policy that focuses on economic security, trade and investment in partnerships. For this, we willboost our competitiveness at home and invest in research into strategic technologiesprotect our economy from technology leakage and security concernscomplete the review of foreign direct investment screening, build a coordinated approach to export controls, and address risks from outbound investmentsdeepen our free and fair-trade links with growth centres and partners around the worlddevelop new clean trade and investment partnerships and deepen our relationships on critical minerals and raw materialsimprove rules-based trade, including through a reformed and strengthened World Trade Organizationenforce our trade agreements and use all of our trade defence instruments where and when neededtake Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide, to the next level through a Team Europe approachpropose a new strategic EU-India agenda and strengthen our cooperation with ASEANwork with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australiadrive investments in infrastructure, renewable energy generation, and raw material value chains in Africadeepen the cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean through Global Gateway investment Reshaping multilateralism for today’s world G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, November 2024Europe will play a leading role in reforming the international system byactively participating in international summits, like the UN Summit for the Future, that call, among others, for equitable representation for all regions and tackle development and debtresponding better to the concerns of our partners impacted by European legislation finding a more systematic approach to assessing the impact of our laws on non-EU countries and providing more targeted support to help them adjust to and benefit from those laws Progress to date Monitor, follow, and stay updated on the progress of new initiatives, proposed laws and legislative changes under this priority. May 2025The EU and Singapore sign a landmark Digital Trade AgreementApril 2025At the first ever high-level political dialogue between the EU and the Palestinian Authority, the Commission proposed a multiannual comprehensive support programme worth up to €1.6 billion to foster Palestinian recovery and resilienceAt the first EU-Central Asia summit leaders agree on a strategic partnershipMarch 2025The EU pledges €2.5 billion to support Syria and the region at the Brussels ConferenceFebruary 2025EU-Chile Interim Trade Agreement enters into forceDecember 2024The EU and Mercosur reach political agreement on groundbreaking partnership In the spotlight EU and Mercosur countries agree new groundbreaking partnershipThe EU and the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) have finalised in December 2024 negotiations for a mutually beneficial partnership agreement. The landmark deal will secure and diversify the EU’s supply chains, create new opportunities and cut red tape for businesses, and help put a stop to deforestation. After the final checks, the Commission will transmit a proposal to the Council and the Parliament for signature and conclusion of the agreement.Read more Related topicsEU solidarity with UkraineThe Middle East crisis Global Gateway Trade policyEU engagement with the Western Balkans EU-US Trade and Technology Council Who is in chargeKaja KallasHigh Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-PresidentMaroš ŠefčovičCommissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and TransparencyDubravka ŠuicaCommissioner for MediterraneanMarta KosCommissioner for EnlargementJozef SíkelaCommissioner for International Partnerships The Commission's other prioritiesCompetitivenessSecurity and defenceEuropean social fairnessQuality of lifeDemocracy and our valuesEU budget and reform
EU-Western Balkans meeting in Montenegro, October 2024To ensure the EU’s enlargement is in line with the promise we gave in our treaties, we willensure that each country looking to join the EU is assessed on its own progress towards meeting all accession criteria, including those on rule of law and fundamental values, which will continue to be the cornerstones of the EU’s enlargement policystep up support to prepare candidate countries, notably using the investment and reforms in the growth plan for the Western Balkans and the Ukraine Facility
Pupils from Kufr Yoba Primary School for Girls in IrbidIn parallel with delivering on enlargement, we will build a more strategic approach to our actions in the EU’s wider neighbourhood bystrengthening our relations with the Mediterranean with a new pact for the Mediterranean. This will focus on investment and partnerships, economic stability, job creation, energy, and security in the regionworking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and an increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gazadelivering an EU-Middle East strategy that will seek to bring a just resolution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and pave the way for a two-state solution to ensure security for both Israelis and Palestinians
Container ship in Hamburg harbourFor Europe’s prosperity, we will establish a new economic foreign policy that focuses on economic security, trade and investment in partnerships. For this, we willboost our competitiveness at home and invest in research into strategic technologiesprotect our economy from technology leakage and security concernscomplete the review of foreign direct investment screening, build a coordinated approach to export controls, and address risks from outbound investmentsdeepen our free and fair-trade links with growth centres and partners around the worlddevelop new clean trade and investment partnerships and deepen our relationships on critical minerals and raw materialsimprove rules-based trade, including through a reformed and strengthened World Trade Organizationenforce our trade agreements and use all of our trade defence instruments where and when neededtake Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide, to the next level through a Team Europe approachpropose a new strategic EU-India agenda and strengthen our cooperation with ASEANwork with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australiadrive investments in infrastructure, renewable energy generation, and raw material value chains in Africadeepen the cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean through Global Gateway investment
G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, November 2024Europe will play a leading role in reforming the international system byactively participating in international summits, like the UN Summit for the Future, that call, among others, for equitable representation for all regions and tackle development and debtresponding better to the concerns of our partners impacted by European legislation finding a more systematic approach to assessing the impact of our laws on non-EU countries and providing more targeted support to help them adjust to and benefit from those laws
EU and Mercosur countries agree new groundbreaking partnershipThe EU and the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) have finalised in December 2024 negotiations for a mutually beneficial partnership agreement. The landmark deal will secure and diversify the EU’s supply chains, create new opportunities and cut red tape for businesses, and help put a stop to deforestation. After the final checks, the Commission will transmit a proposal to the Council and the Parliament for signature and conclusion of the agreement.Read more
Maroš ŠefčovičCommissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
