As of 1 February, alongside the daily bulletin of Agence EUROPE, there will also be a twice-weekly publication on European defence policy and related activities, in other words the European construction plank, which surveys have shown arouses high expectations amongst the general public.
After a long embryonic phase, this plank has acquired a certain dynamism and seen some positive results, even if these are rarely spectacular and even if the media turn to it intermittently and unevenly. This is an area which features in all plans to re-float the Constitution in Europe, and will soon share centre stage with a few other similarly important fields.
Agence EUROPE has never ignored Europe's developments, which have often been encouraging and occasionally spectacular, in these areas. These developments are regularly summed up in our daily bulletin, as are all other aspects of Community activity, and this will continue to be the case, with ever more in-depth information and analysis. But we felt that beyond what already is - and will continue to be - published in the general bulletin, there is increasingly - and will continue to be - a specific call for information on the institutional, technical and military developments of the ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy) and on the activities of the bodies and instruments which oversee them on a day-to-day basis: COPS (the Political and Security Committee of the European Union, at ambassador level), the European Defence Agency, the institutions of the WEU, not to mention what the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) bodies do.
This editorial initiative also corresponds to developments in our specialist publication Atlantic News. This bulletin, which came into being nearly 40 years ago, when there was still no such thing as the CFSP or ESDP, focused first of all on the activity of the Atlantic Pact (NATO) and its institutions, as its name suggests. Over the years, it evolved, in parallel with political change and the birth of the CFSP and ESDP, which the bulletin came to report on more and more. Its subscribers knew this. But keeping its old title and presentation did it a disservice: most of the readers of our daily bulletin didn't even know that it existed, or if they did, then they had no idea how it changed. We felt that the time had come to reflect all of these changes in the title and presentation of the publication, and to highlight its European nature. Its title, from now on, will be Europe Diplomacy & Defence, and it aims to be the press instrument which will accompany Europe on its journey towards autonomy in these fields, whilst paying due respect to the importance that links to NATO will continue to play for European security and its foreign policy.
Those responsible for the CFSP, ESDP and WEU will be able to speak through it, and we will continue to follow the activities of their institutions on a regular basis. Olivier Jehin will take editorial responsibility for the new publication. As editor-in-chief of “Atlantic News”, he has for many years been a close follower of ESDP activities and inspired the “new direction” in Atlantic News, which has naturally led to the birth of Europe Diplomacy & Defence.
Those of Agence EUROPE's readers who are interested in European construction in general will still be able to find information, analyses and comment on developments within CFSP and ESDP in their usual daily bulletin, as well as information on other Community activities, of course. Those with a particular interest in defence policy and defence and security issues will find everything they want to know about the activities of the ESDP, NATO and WEU bodies, on a political, military, technical and industrial level.
If you would like to receive some free issues, please write to edd@agenceurope.com.
Happy reading to one and all.
Ferdinando Riccardi