This policy paper is part of a series of six on the
priorities of the Netherlands for the EU for 2019-2024

An EU that safeguards and
promotes its interests and
values in the wider world
The world the EU finds itself in in the years to come, poses great
challenges. The core values of the liberal world order are under
threat and the rules-based multilateral order that has brought
unprecedented security and prosperity is being challenged.
Traditional partnerships cannot be taken for granted. Focus is
less on cooperation and more on confrontation.
These developments call for a European Union that safeguards
European values and interests abroad and defends the rulesbased multilateral order. In a turbulent world, a united EU puts
us in a position of power. The fact that it has the world’s biggest
internal market gives it great economic power, which can and
must be used to greater advantage, for example by making
greater use of the EU investment and trade policy to strengthen
the rules-based international order and ensure that it reflects
European values and standards. The EU is in a position and has to
show leadership when it comes to addressing global challenges,
for example in relation to achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals. This is in the interest of the EU, and in the
interest of the wider world.
To deliver results on the EU’s key priorities – migration, security, a
robust economy and climate – vigorous external action by the EU
is a necessity. This calls for greater coherence between external
and internal policies.

Integrated external action
The impact the EU can have at the world stage lies in its ability to
deploy a wide range of policies and instruments to achieve its
goals. The main challenge is to put these policies and instruments,
such as trade, development cooperation, sanctions, CSDP to use in
a strategic, coordinated and coherent manner to maximize
effect.
• This requires first of all the European Council to provide more
strategic guidance on EU external action.
• The Foreign Affairs Council should continue to provide direction.
• Strong coordination is needed between the EEAS and the
various DGs working on external policies within the
Commission. The external cluster of Commissioners led by the
HR/VP under the current legislature was a step in the right
direction. This should be taken to the next level by the next
Commission: stronger coordination on external action at the
level of the College of Commissioners as well as closer
cooperation at the lower levels. Here lies an important role for
the next HR/VP.
Integrated external action is most needed and possible in the EU’s
neighbourhood, as stability and good cooperation with our
neighbours are essential for our own security and prosperity. For
the countries of European Neighbourhood Policy and the
enlargement countries, the EU has the broadest set of policies and
instruments at its disposal. In particular, cooperation in the field of
rule of law, migration and climate is of importance in this region.

An EU that safeguards and promotes its interests and values in the wider world

Conditionality has proven to have the best leverage for farreaching reforms and other concrete results. Therefore, it is
important to stick to the existing conditionality of the
neighbourhood and enlargement policies.
Summits with third countries will continue to be an important
tool. A more strategic preparation, keeping in mind the
integrated approach, is needed.

Driven by a more responsive CFSP
Given the developments in the world, the EU is in dire need of a
more effective Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
Too often, the EU is not able to respond effectively and timely to
urgent developments due to a lack of consensus among member
states.
• This challenges us to look for thinking-outside-the-box
solutions.
• More emphasis should be put on building and maintaining
consensus among member states, while at the same time
exploring other options such as the use of constructive
abstention. This is first and foremost up to the member states,
but here is also an important role to play for the HR/VP.
An important question with regard to CFSP is how the EU employs
the instrument of sanctions. Sanctions give teeth to the CFSP.
• Strengthening of this instrument is needed, including through
the increased use of thematic sanctions regimes.
• Introduction of Qualified Majority Voting on sanctions should
be seriously considered to enable the EU to take swift and
decisive action in cases where it is needed.
• The EU should be more serious about enforcement of sanctions.
This requires better coordination and information sharing
among national enforcement authorities and better guidance to
ensure a level playing field. Here lies a task for the Commission.

With a focus on an external security agenda
Undesirable foreign interference in Europe, terrorism, cyber and
hybrid threats, energy politics, draining of knowledge from our
universities and risks to our economic security call for a stronger
focus on external security. The nature of such threats requires a
response broader than CFSP/CSDP. Stronger resilience against
such threats is needed and has to be addressed using both the
EU’s external and internal policies and instruments. The EU
Regulation on Investment Screening is a good example in this
regard.

To this end, the EU should bring more focus in operationalising the defined
EU level of ambition, taking into account its own unique strengths and that
of its strategic partners, especially NATO:
• Addressing today’s challenges requires collective responses, and
organisations like the EU, NATO and the UN have unique
strengths. Combining strengths and comparative advantages is
especially necessary knowing that nations have a single set of
forces and limited defence budgets.
• The EU’s combined civil-military toolbox and the EU’s
integrated approach are to be seen as EU strengths that should
be developed further, also for strengthening the internalexternal security nexus through supporting internal security
interests.
• Close alignment of capability development processes and
operational planning is crucial, particularly between EU and
NATO, but also between the EU and the UN.
• Supporting Europe’s CSDP ambitions a level playing field is
imperative for a strong European defence technological and
industrial base.
A strong role for the Council and linking internal and external security is
essential in making CSDP more effective:
• The Council should be leading efforts to enable a more effective
CSDP and the High Representative and the Commission should
facilitate a truly integrated approach.
• These efforts should also be reflected in the future agenda and
format of the meetings of the Council and its preparatory and
decision making procedures.
The EU should strive for a more output oriented approach:
• Introducing concrete deliverables and timelines by means of
specific FAC conclusions, could be a modus operandi to be
applied more broadly in the EU context. This is especially
relevant in relation to the issue of capability development and
in achieving more interoperability between EU armed forces,
which are essential when it comes to Europe’s capacity to act.
There is a need to focus on a successful and coherent implementation of the
current CSDP instruments:
• The architecture is in place with the building blocks of CDP,
CARD, PESCO, EDF, MPCC1 and the Civilian Compact being ready
and EPF being designed. This is not to say that there should be
no room for new initiatives, but now is the time to implement
and yield concrete results, showing a Europe that protects.

When it comes to defence, Europe must be able to respond to
external threats and anticipate or respond to situations that affect
European security, together with non-European partners if
possible, but alone if needed.

1

Capability Development Plan, Coordinated Annual Review on Defence,
Permanent Structured Cooperation, European Defence Fund, Military
Planning and Conduct Capability

An EU that safeguards and promotes its interests and values in the wider world

Development cooperation
Development cooperation should be part of an integrated
strategy.
• It is imperative that programming is based on strategic country
analyses and joint programming documents. These
documents entail cooperation on e.g. conflict prevention,
strengthening rule of law, improving gender equality, addressing
root causes of irregular migration, assisting third countries with
climate adaptation/ mitigation and their Nationally Determined
Contributions.
• EU development aid should target the greatest needs, especially
in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and countries in states of
fragility and conflict, in line with the EU Consensus on
Development of June 2017 and the Sustainable Development
Goals.
• The private sector can contribute to the implementation of
these goals and is an instrumental in reaching the most
vulnerable and marginalised people.
Development cooperation is a parallel competence: both EU and
Member States can act.
• Better cooperation is needed, to ensure that efforts are aligned
and complementary for the best results possible, and that
comparative advantages of EU institutions on the one hand and
member states on the other are used to the maximum extent
possible.
The increased attention from the EU on the African continent is a
positive development, not only because 33 African countries are
classified as LDCs but also because it is in the EU’s strategic
interest.
• Further strengthening and modernising the EU’s relationship
with the African continent is necessary, working on the basis of
both European and African interests.

A trade policy adjusted to today’s challenges
The objective of the EU’s trade policy in coming years should be to
maintain and strengthen the multilateral trade and investment
system; in conjunction with internal market policies, create a level
playing field and gain further market access to global markets
while safeguarding the EU’s strategic (economic) interests.

• The EU should take the lead in reforming the WTO, including
through:
• Working to close gaps in the WTO rulebook to ensure a level
playing field, particularly with regard to State Owned
Enterprises (SOEs), industrial subsidies and to address forced
technology transfers.
• Strengthen the monitoring function of the WTO, to ensure
better enforcement of the multilateral trade rules.
• Address the Appellate Body crisis to ensure binding dispute
settlement.
• Based on the leverage of the internal market, the Commission
should continue to conclude comprehensive, deep and
sustainable EU trade agreements and investment agreements
with third parties, in particular with the UK, Indonesia,
MERCOSUR, Australia, New Zealand. The sustainability chapters
of these agreements should be based on high international
standards in the field of labour, human rights, climate, gender,
environment. Trade agreements must give due regard to the
importance of free data flows, while upholding the right to
protect personal data, in accordance with the adopted Council
Conclusions.
• The Commission should make a determined effort to further
regional trade and market integration in Africa through the
conclusion and implementation of Economic Partnership
Agreements, laying the foundation for an overall EU-Africa
Trade Agreement. Transparency of EU negotiations with third
countries should be improved, for example by publishing
negotiation mandates.
• The Commission should assist Member States in the
implementation of the new EU Regulation on Investment
Screening and explore options for further strengthening EU
cooperation in this field inter alia by using the outcomes of the
foreseen evaluation of the Regulation. The EU must be willing
to more assertively take third countries to task over insufficient
market access or discriminatory trade practices, including
through dispute settlement where appropriate.
• The Commission has to take a leading role on Responsible
Business Conduct (RBC), amongst others by developing an EU
RBC Action Plan towards development of a framework for RBC,
involving an appropriate policy mix to change business
behaviour, and by appointing a lead DG within the Commission.
RBC is instrumental to a fair and sustainable economy. EU
coordinated action on RBC ensures a level playing field for
European enterprises and leads to a bigger impact on the
ground.

This is a publication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
March 2019 | cd1217nb001