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
Objectives
Enlarging the European Unionto increase our influence on the global stage
- Focusing on our wider neighbourhood
to promote peace, partnerships and economic stability
- Pursuing a new economic foreign policy
to boost our prosperity, trading power, and mutually beneficial partnerships
- Reforming the international system
to make it fit for today’s world
To ensure the EU’s enlargement is in line with the promise we gave in our treaties, we will
- ensure 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 policy
- step up support to prepare candidate countries, notably using the investment and reforms in the growth plan for the Western Balkans and the Ukraine Facility
In parallel with delivering on enlargement, we will build a more strategic approach to our actions in the EU’s wider neighbourhood by
- strengthening 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 region
- working for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and an increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza
- delivering 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
For Europe’s prosperity, we will establish a new economic foreign policy that focuses on economic security, trade and investment in partnerships. For this, we will
- boost our competitivenessat home and invest in research into strategic technologies
- protect our economy from technology leakage and security concerns
- complete the review of foreign direct investment screening, build a coordinated approach to export controls, and address risks from outbound investments
- deepen our free and fair-trade links with growth centres and partners around the world
- develop new clean trade and investment partnerships and deepen our relationships on critical minerals and raw materials
- improve rules-based trade, including through a reformed and strengthened World Trade Organization
- enforce our trade agreements and use all of our trade defence instruments where and when needed
- take Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide, to the next level through a Team Europe approach
- propose a new strategic EU-India agenda and strengthen our cooperation with ASEAN
- work with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australia
- drive investments in infrastructure, renewable energy generation, and raw material value chains in Africa
- deepen the cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean through Global Gateway investment
Europe will play a leading role in reforming the international system by
- actively 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 debt
- responding 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 2025
The EU and Singapore sign a landmark Digital Trade Agreement
- April 2025
At 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 resilience
At the first EU-Central Asia summit leaders agree on a strategic partnership
- March 2025
The EU pledges €2.5 billion to support Syria and the region at the Brussels Conference
- February 2025
EU-Chile Interim Trade Agreement enters into force
- December 2024
The EU and Mercosur reach political agreement on groundbreaking partnership
In the spotlight
The Commission plans to make the External Action Guarantee (EAG) more efficient. As a key part of the Global Gateway strategy, a stronger EAG will improve the EU’s ability to provide aid while better managing financial risks. The proposed changes will also make it easier to shift funding between financial tools and will streamline the process for accessing investments under EAG.
Who is in charge
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President
Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
Commissioner for Mediterranean
Commissioner for Enlargement
Commissioner for International Partnerships