L-R: François Bausch, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence; João Gomes Cravinho, Portugal's Minister of Defence; Credit: 2021 LUSA - Agência de Notícias de Portugal, S.A.

At the invitation of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch, participated on Friday in a meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Lisbon; this meeting was entirely dedicated to the EU's "Strategic Compass”.

The Strategic Compass will be the EU's new reference document in the field of security and defence and will define the strategic orientations of the EU and its Member States in this area for the coming decade.

During the meeting last Friday, Minister François Bausch notably underlined that the compass should first of all reflect the European values ​​that the Member States will have to defend inside and outside the EU. He also reiterated Luxembourg's position according to which the EU will have to focus more in the future on new types of threats, namely hybrid threats, threats in the cyber domain and the security implications of major global environmental changes, including climate change, loss of biodiversity and the scarcity of natural resources such as water and agricultural land. The EU should be able to prevent and mitigate the potential geostrategic implications in these areas.

According to Luxembourg's Defence Minister, the EU will have to strengthen and adapt its partnerships, particularly with institutions and countries that share European values. This includes deep and continued cooperation with institutions like NATO and the United Nations (UN).

Minister François Bausch also emphasised that the new space capacities of the EU and its Member States will be a real added value for the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) and from which it will be necessary to take full advantage.