On Wednesday 26 September, European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations and Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn called for greater EU action in the world.
"A little less conversation, a little more action would be good for Europe", he said in a speech at Princeton University. "Holding hands and complaining about others is not foreign policy. The EU must simply pack a better punch itself. We must get our own act together!", he continued. "'Stronger together' – that evident principle – is not yet sufficiently taken into account when Europe engages on the international stage", he regretted. "Now is the time for the courage and resolve to plug the gaps and use our potential", he said.
"Europe cannot simply rely on others anymore. They won't do our job for us", he said, adding that "it is obvious that clinging on to the status quo is not option!" "If we don't move forward, we risk sliding back", he said.
In his speech, Hahn said that in the Western Balkans, in the broader Neighbourhood to the East and South, and on the global stage, the EU was "a more self-confident, self-reliant EU, a Union that stands taller because it stands together".
With regard to the Western Balkans, Hahn also said that the EU's "soft power" was crucial and went a long way. "But we must be ready to use it! If we want to be fit for the global game, we must deploy it consciously as 'power' and not as magnetism. Foreign policy doesn't fly on autopilot", he stated.
Hahn also insisted on multilateralism. "We must reach out and strengthen the rules of the global game – if not, others will write them for us", he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)