ENGAGE

In today’s extremely volatile international environment, the institutions of the European Union and its Member States need to effectively and sustainably harness all their tools in a joined-up external action. The Horizon2020 project ENGAGE - Envisioning a New Governance Architecture for a Global Europe contributes to advance this goal and answers how the EU can effectively and sustainably harness all of its tools in a joined-up external action, with an eye to meeting key strategic challenges and becoming a stronger global actor.

Project consortium

ENGAGE brings together a consortium of 13 universities and think tanks from EU and non-EU countries that provide first-class academic expertise of scholars who cover the entire scope of the EU’s external action, involving many practitioners with vast experience in relevant governmental bodies.

Work packages

The academic research carried out in the ENGAGE project will culminate in a White Paper on Joined-up, Coherent, Sustainable, and Effective EU External Action, to be presented to EU officials in June 2024. The document will inform policymakers on the governance structures, policy mechanisms, and strategic objectives needed to ensure combined, coherent, balanced, and effective EU external action. To render our proposals as operational and effective as possible, we seek to consult Member States, EU neighbors, and strategic partners on our ideas via a series of Stakeholder Workshops. These closed-door meetings in 10 EU and non-EU capitals are held among select groups of policymakers, officials, and experts, and the specific topic is consulted with local partners to suit the interests of the host country.

The final conference of ENGAGE will take place on 13-14 June 2024 in Brussels.

White Paper

10 Recommendations to Make the European Union a Stronger Global Actor

The following ten recommendations would help the EU become a stronger global actor capable of effectively addressing current and future geopolitical challenges. The first four concern the institutional framework of EU foreign and security policy, while the next six tackle individual policy areas. Taken together, they represent a comprehensive plan for improving the way the EU operates on the international stage.

(Click on the image below to open a PDF version)