Summit to adopt new security strategy for the EU

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Thursday 20 June 2013

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G8 summit mulls action on tax evasion
The world's rich economies said they would take a tougher stance on fighting money laundering and tax evasion but promised little in the way of specific new action at the end of a two-day summit yesterday (18 June).

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LINKSDOSSIERS

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INTERVIEWS

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OPINIONS

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BLOGS

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VIDEOS

Background:

In his 14-page strategy paper to be presented to the EU's foreign ministers on 9 December, Mr Solana identifies terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, state failure and organised crime as the key threats Europe has to face.

The strategy rests on the premise that "large-scale aggression against any Member State is now improbable". "With the new threats, the first line of defence will often be abroad", the document says.

Europe's strategic objectives should be to address these threats, to build security in its neighbourhood, and to strive for an international order based on effective multilateralism, the document says. To this end, the EU should be "more active in pursuing its strategic objectives"; "more capable" in its use of resources and also in diplomacy; and "more coherent" in bringing together its different instruments and capabilities. "The transatlantic relationship is irreplaceable", the document says, adding that the EU should also continue to work for closer relations with Russia.