A global Europe: leveraging our power and partnership Overview The world has drastically changed in recent years. Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, the war in Gaza and the emergence of a new league of authoritarians working on sowing division and seeking to create an alternative international order, the more aggressive posture and unfair economic competition from China, are just few of the examples that show the EU needs to be more assertive in pursuing its interests.The European Commission will work to make sure that the EU’s foreign and security policy is fit to tackle the challenges of the world’s current reality. We will defend and promote a rules-based international order and push to strengthen the role of global institutions. This way Europe’s values will be upheld, and Europe will stand strong in a more contested and unstable world.What Europeans think 69% of EU citizens are in favour of a common foreign policy of EU countries69% agree that the EU is a place of stability in a troubled world69% agree the EU has sufficient tools to defend its economic interests in the global economy Sources: Eurobarometer survey 2025 and 2024 Objectives Enlarging the European Unionto increase our influence on the global stageFocusing on our wider neighbourhoodto promote peace, partnerships and economic stabilityPursuing a new economic foreign policyto boost our prosperity, trading power, and mutually beneficial partnershipsReforming the international systemto make it fit for today’s world How we will achieve our objectives Enlargement as a geopolitical imperative To ensure the EU’s enlargement is in line with the promise we gave in our treaties, we willensure that each country looking to join the EU is assessed on its own progress towards meeting all accession criteria, including those on rule of law and fundamental values, which will continue to be the cornerstones of the EU’s enlargement policystep up support to prepare candidate countries, notably using the investment and reforms in the growth plan for the Western Balkans and the Ukraine FacilityEU-Western Balkans meeting in Montenegro, October 2024 A more strategic approach to our neighbourhood In parallel with delivering on enlargement, we will build a more strategic approach to our actions in the EU’s wider neighbourhood bystrengthening our relations with the Mediterranean with a new pact for the Mediterranean. This will focus on investment and partnerships, economic stability, job creation, energy, and security in the regionworking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and an increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gazadelivering an EU-Middle East strategy that will seek to bring a just resolution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and pave the way for a two-state solution to ensure security for both Israelis and PalestiniansPupils from Kufr Yoba Primary School for Girls in Irbid A new economic foreign policy For Europe’s prosperity, we will establish a new economic foreign policy that focuses on economic security, trade and investment in partnerships. For this, we willboost our competitiveness at home and invest in research into strategic technologiesprotect our economy from technology leakage and security concernscomplete the review of foreign direct investment screening, build a coordinated approach to export controls, and address risks from outbound investmentsdeepen our free and fair-trade links with growth centres and partners around the worlddevelop new clean trade and investment partnerships and deepen our relationships on critical minerals and raw materialsimprove rules-based trade, including through a reformed and strengthened World Trade Organizationenforce our trade agreements and use all of our trade defence instruments where and when neededtake Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide, to the next level through a Team Europe approachpropose a new strategic EU-India agenda and strengthen our cooperation with ASEANwork with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australiadrive investments in infrastructure, renewable energy generation, and raw material value chains in Africadeepen the cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean through Global Gateway investmentContainer ship in Hamburg harbour Reshaping multilateralism for today’s world Europe will play a leading role in reforming the international system byactively participating in international summits, like the UN Summit for the Future, that call, among others, for equitable representation for all regions and tackle development and debtresponding better to the concerns of our partners impacted by European legislation finding a more systematic approach to assessing the impact of our laws on non-EU countries and providing more targeted support to help them adjust to and benefit from those lawsG20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, November 2024 Progress to date Monitor, follow, and stay updated on the progress of new initiatives, proposed laws and legislative changes under this priority. January 2026The EU signs a landmark free trade agreement with Mercosur and concludes negotiations for a trade agreement with IndiaThe EU and Brazil conclude agreements to create the biggest area of free and safe data flows in the worldDecember 2025The EU and Japan conclude Horizon Europe negotiationsNovember 2025The EU and Southern Mediterranean partners launch the Pact for the Mediterranean, a major step toward a more stable, secure and prosperous Mediterranean spaceThe campaign ‘Scaling up Renewables in Africa’ secures €15.5 billion to boost clean energy across the continentThe EU and South Africa sign a landmark clean trade and investment partnershipSwitzerland joins Horizon Europe and other key EU research and innovation programmes Follow the implementation of the priority In the spotlight EU secures landmark trade agreements with Mercosur and IndiaAt a time of rising geopolitical tensions, the EU is establishing new partnerships that confirm our commitment to economic openness and rules-based trade.The EU-Mercosur trade agreement will boost Europe’s competitiveness and economic security while protecting EU farmers, consumers and environmental standards. The EU-India trade agreement will strengthen trade, investment and political ties between the world’s two largest democracies.New Delhi, 27 January 2026 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa finalise negotiations on the EU-India trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Related topicsEU solidarity with UkraineThe Middle East crisis Global Gateway Trade policyEU engagement with the Western Balkans EU-US Trade and Technology Council Who is in chargeKaja KallasHigh Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-PresidentMaroš ŠefčovičCommissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and TransparencyDubravka ŠuicaCommissioner for MediterraneanMarta KosCommissioner for EnlargementJozef SíkelaCommissioner for International Partnerships The Commission's other prioritiesCompetitivenessSecurity and defenceEuropean social fairnessQuality of lifeDemocracy and our valuesEU budget and reform
To ensure the EU’s enlargement is in line with the promise we gave in our treaties, we willensure that each country looking to join the EU is assessed on its own progress towards meeting all accession criteria, including those on rule of law and fundamental values, which will continue to be the cornerstones of the EU’s enlargement policystep up support to prepare candidate countries, notably using the investment and reforms in the growth plan for the Western Balkans and the Ukraine FacilityEU-Western Balkans meeting in Montenegro, October 2024
In parallel with delivering on enlargement, we will build a more strategic approach to our actions in the EU’s wider neighbourhood bystrengthening our relations with the Mediterranean with a new pact for the Mediterranean. This will focus on investment and partnerships, economic stability, job creation, energy, and security in the regionworking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and an increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gazadelivering an EU-Middle East strategy that will seek to bring a just resolution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and pave the way for a two-state solution to ensure security for both Israelis and PalestiniansPupils from Kufr Yoba Primary School for Girls in Irbid
For Europe’s prosperity, we will establish a new economic foreign policy that focuses on economic security, trade and investment in partnerships. For this, we willboost our competitiveness at home and invest in research into strategic technologiesprotect our economy from technology leakage and security concernscomplete the review of foreign direct investment screening, build a coordinated approach to export controls, and address risks from outbound investmentsdeepen our free and fair-trade links with growth centres and partners around the worlddevelop new clean trade and investment partnerships and deepen our relationships on critical minerals and raw materialsimprove rules-based trade, including through a reformed and strengthened World Trade Organizationenforce our trade agreements and use all of our trade defence instruments where and when neededtake Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide, to the next level through a Team Europe approachpropose a new strategic EU-India agenda and strengthen our cooperation with ASEANwork with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australiadrive investments in infrastructure, renewable energy generation, and raw material value chains in Africadeepen the cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean through Global Gateway investmentContainer ship in Hamburg harbour
Europe will play a leading role in reforming the international system byactively participating in international summits, like the UN Summit for the Future, that call, among others, for equitable representation for all regions and tackle development and debtresponding better to the concerns of our partners impacted by European legislation finding a more systematic approach to assessing the impact of our laws on non-EU countries and providing more targeted support to help them adjust to and benefit from those lawsG20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, November 2024
EU secures landmark trade agreements with Mercosur and IndiaAt a time of rising geopolitical tensions, the EU is establishing new partnerships that confirm our commitment to economic openness and rules-based trade.The EU-Mercosur trade agreement will boost Europe’s competitiveness and economic security while protecting EU farmers, consumers and environmental standards. The EU-India trade agreement will strengthen trade, investment and political ties between the world’s two largest democracies.New Delhi, 27 January 2026 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa finalise negotiations on the EU-India trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Maroš ŠefčovičCommissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
