The Strategic Compass outlines the EU’s defense and security plans for the next ten years. One of the goals of the new plan is to make the European Union less dependent on the United States.

Plans tightened

Negotiations on these plans began early in 2020, and have sharpened significantly in recent months. This is mainly due to the war in Ukraine. Sources in Brussels say that the strategic compass now contains “tougher language” against Russia, but it is not preparing for war with its eastern neighbor.

A number of defense ministers said earlier that the Russian war against Ukraine had facilitated and accelerated the agreement on the compass.

wake up panicked

Member states were already stunned by last summer’s chaotic evacuation of the Taliban-occupied Afghan capital, Kabul. Then it turned out that the European Union had to rely on the Americans. Flash power, among other things, should change that.

“The most hostile security environment requires us to take a major leap forward and increase our capacity and willingness to act,” say the EU’s foreign and defense ministers. With Compass they want to “enhance resilience and invest more and better in our defense capabilities”.