Europe’s shrinking geopolitical weight has prompted a wider reevaluation of its strategic autonomy. In November 2021, the European Commission unveiled the Strategic Compass, a proposal that defines the European Union’s ambitions for security and defense. Yet, the meaning of strategic autonomy has evolved to entail much more, from artificial intelligence and microchip production to energy dependency on Russia – as well as the management of migration flows and climate challenges across Europe. Parliaments can make a difference in how these issues affect their citizens’ daily lives.  

During the conversation, participants had the chance to share their own views on the topic and learn from other national and parliamentary perspectives, by tackling, among others, the following questions:  

  • What is the state of play on the debate on European strategic autonomy?
  • What is the European Commission’s Strategic Compass, and what are the challenges it expects to tackle?
  • How is the concept of strategic autonomy understood by national members of Parliament, and how can they contribute to the debate with their national perspective?
  • How could strategic autonomy be operationalized at the EU Member State level? 

Spyros Blavoukos, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Ariane Condellis Programme at ELIAMEP, and Associate Professor at Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and Pol Morillas, Director of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) joined the discussion. 

 

OED120 POLICY DEEP-DIVES

The OED120 Policy Deep-Dive format allows parliamentarians to receive a concise briefing, ask questions to an expert and discuss, with colleagues, a narrowly defined topic during a 120-minute video call. The OED provides professional facilitation to extract the most value out of the discussions. Policymakers get the chance to share their perspectives with their colleagues, while having topic expertise on hand for questions and clarifications. Topics are chosen as they emerge through other network activities as ripe for a more in-depth discussion, or they are suggested by members of the network, or flagged by the network of OED researchers and experts. MP network members can initiate these calls and volunteer their expertise on a topic of their choosing.