European nations cannot be “led by fear” in the wake of the Paris attacks, but must to stand together to forge a new security pact, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Tuesday.
“There is one mistake we cannot afford. We cannot be led by fear,” Mogherini said in The Hague, where she opened a two-day brainstorming session on the body’s long-awaited global strategy on foreign and security policy.
“Emotional reactions can be very powerful, but they can only lead us so far,” she said, as Europe looks at updating its 12-year-old policy against the backdrop of last month’s attacks in the French capital claimed by the Islamic State group which left 130 dead.
The new policy is to be unveiled to European leaders in June next year and will not only focus on defence matters, but also cyber security, energy and climate change, the EU has said.
Mogherini called for a unified Europe, saying “the interests of our people can be better served through our common European policies.”
“We need a strategy, a common one, to determine our action beyond the latest crisis… to prevent the next ones,” Mogherini said.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said the EU “needs a more unified position more than ever.”
He pledged the issue will top the agenda when the Netherlands takes over the rotating EU presidency in January.
