Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, attended the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) plenary session on 17 October 2018, engaging in a debate with members on the main external threats and challenges for the EU.

President of the EESC, Luca Jahier, recalled the political instability of the European neighbourhood and regretted that the situation in the majority of countries in the Mediterranean region had not improved over recent years, despite the EU’s efforts. He called for greater involvement of civil society in EU external action: “It is clear that the level of public support for ‘more EU’ is still high, and that civil society organisations are willing to be a part of this effort. That, Ms Mogherini, is a huge political asset in your hands“.

Federica Mogherini presented the main external threats and challenges facing the EU and the overarching working lines of the European External Action Service (EEAS). She also mentioned some priorities of the EEAS which, in her words, are also shared with the EESC:

• Sustainable development, with several proposals in the past few years such as the External Investment Plan.
• Sustainable peace, which means giving alternatives and opportunities to population in conflict countries;
• Culture and cultural heritage, not only as a part of the economy and to reinforce the sense of belonging of local population, but also to promote European soft power, “which is more important than hard power”;
• Youth, which is in the centre of EU external action because, in Ms Mogherini’s approach, “we have to abandon the traditional paternalist stand and take into account young people’s voice in the decision making today”.

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Press release

European Economic and Social Committee