HR/VP Blog - Migration is back at the top of the EU agenda. Later this week, we will discuss at the European Council how to find a joint way forward. I think it is important that we avoid a “Fortress Europe” mentality. We must recognise that legal migration offers many benefits and that we must work with partners who have their own interests.

HR/VP Blog – Last week, I travelled to the Southern African region. On my agenda was the EU-South Africa Ministerial Dialogue, as well as bilateral meetings in South Africa and Botswana. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was high on the agenda after the Russian Foreign Minister visited South Africa just a few days before. We discussed the causes and consequences of the war and how it can end.

HR/VP Blog – Space has increasingly become a strategic domain for our security and defence. Without security in space there will be no security on earth. At this year’s European Space Conference, I underlined that we need powerful, EU-level action to safeguard our security in and through space.

HR/VP blog - Last Sunday, an anti-government mob ransacked the Presidential Palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress in Brasilia. The tactics used and the underlying dynamics have clear similarities with the assault on the US Congress in January 2021. We need to be clear about the reasons behind such attacks on democracy and work harder to defend it at home and globally.

HR/VP Blog – In 2023 the world will mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We need to be inspired by that landmark document and the global consensus it enshrined. Recognising that we face adverse trends and the global human rights situation is getting worse, we must be determined and creative in our defence of the universality of human rights.

HR/VP Blog – An intense year has now passed. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a geopolitical earthquake. It has caused in particular a serious energy crisis in the EU. However, despite our dependence on imports of Russian fossil fuels, we did not give in to Putin's blackmail. We managed to fill the gap and finalised important reforms to accelerate our energy transition. They will have a significant geopolitical impact.

23/12/2022 – HR/VP Blog Post – This week, I travelled to Jordan to represent the EU in the second Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership, co-hosted by King Abdullah and President Macron. Key actors from the region discussed support for Iraq, its sovereignty and security. I also had a number of bilateral meetings, some of which focused on complex and sensitive regional and global issues.

HRVP Blog - This week we had the first-ever EU-ASEAN Summit in Brussels, to mark 45 years of diplomatic relations. South-East Asia is a highly dynamic part of the world and a ‘swing’ player amid growing strategic competition. There is a lot of potential to deepen collaboration: on trade and investment, on security and global challenges. We need to engage more with them.

HR/VP Blog – A year ago, the European Commission launched the Global Gateway initiative to promote sustainable connectivity around the world with a €300 billion investment target, combining resources from EU institutions, member states and private sector. Last Sunday, I participated in the first Global Gateway board meeting, taking stock of this strategic project. Since its launch, this initiative has raised high expectations. We are now committed to deliver.

HR/VP Blog – Europeans are clearly increasing their defence spending and capabilities. This is what the report of the European Defence Agency says. This is very much needed. As we to keep supporting Ukraine, we must invest more together to prepare European armies face a more dangerous world.

HR/VP Blog – Democracy is in decline globally. In this context, EU efforts to observe elections help countries across the world to counter attacks on democracy and build greater democratic resilience. This week, the European External Action Service and the European Parliament hosted in Brussels a meeting of key international actors in the field of electoral observation. This is an opportunity for me to highlight the importance of their work, which rarely makes the headlines.

HR/VP blog – Last week, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Türkyie, was extended for three months. Together with the Solidarity Lanes, which the EU has put in place, it is vital to limit food insecurity globally, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Food should never be used as a weapon of war.