Why the EU needs a security strategy

The EU urgently needs a security strategy. At present the notion of a credible European foreign policy provokes derisive laughter – and not just in Washington. What Europe lacks, even more than military capabilities, is a shared vision of today's security threats and adequate policy responses. One of the main reasons behind the EU's divisions over Iraq was the lack of a shared threat assessment. Each country first formed its own national viewpoint, and then tried half-heartedly to find a common stance with its European neighbours.