On Monday 22 July, in an article published on the European Council on Foreign relations, some 60 European personalities called on the future President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, but also the future President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the potential High Representative, Josep Borrell, to "quickly find ways to get the European institutions to strengthen and channel the resources of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Member States behind a common European foreign policy".
For these 63 personalities, including former ministers and former Commissioners and MEPs, the new management team must "set out in search of strategic sovereignty for Europe". This should include economic and financial elements - in particular to counter secondary sanctions, work on the international role of the dollar, investment screening, technology regulation - as well as security and defence elements and political diplomatic elements, including multilateral issues.
In their view, the High Representative should not avoid the most controversial European foreign policy issues - China, Middle East, Russia, migration, the Balkans, climate change, "but try to find ways to go beyond the lowest common denominator by engaging groups of Member States in a new major negotiation".
The signatories promote the strengthening of links between the European institutions and national governments in the field of foreign policy. "For the EU's foreign policy to be effective, it cannot rely solely on the High Representative to carry the political burden. The latter should be supported by Commission deputies covering key regional issues and working groups of foreign ministers", they propose.
Finally, the personalities want the European pillar of NATO to be strengthened and the EU to take responsibility for the missions in the Balkans and Africa. Europeans must also consider innovations such as a European Security Council to, among other things, involve the United Kingdom after Brexit, they add.
See the list of signatories: https://bit.ly/2YaXfOk (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)