Understanding the ambition in the EU’s Strategic Compass: a case for optimism at last?

The quest for substance, capability, and strategic autonomy goes on – or does it? Is the objective of CSDP territorial defence autonomy, crisis management softer security concerns like peacekeeping, border management, protection shipping lanes, and/or cyber security? Union needs to move beyond familiar complaints about lack common culture EU intrusion into NATO responsibilities. Geostrategic economic imperatives dictate that should progress civilian in Neighbourhood, military training sector reform (SSR). Strategic Compass must signal clarity objectives, coherence, enhanced appropriate burden sharing with NATO. response build European ways strengthen For reasons, both post-Brexit UK need intensive cooperation maintain their geostrategic relevance alliance. This paper reflects prospects offers timely analysis recent trends foreign policy expresses cautious optimism regarding autonomy/actorness.