Book by EU High Representative: ‘European foreign policy in times of COVID-19’

The European External Action Service has published a book by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell. The edition, collected from blogs and other articles written by Borrell, reminds of the main events of 2020 and the EU’s response to the challenges facing Europe’s global role. It traces the main stages of the pandemic and the EU’s actions: from the ‘battle of narratives’ and the work on repatriation, to the development of ‘Team Europe’ and the deal on the recovery fund.

The book directly addresses key questions for European foreign policy: from transatlantic partnership under the new US administration to how the EU should act in the face of ‘new empires’ that threaten to destabilise the European neighbourhood.

As the Eastern Partnership has played an important role in strengthening cooperation between the EU and its six partners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), four articles in this book focus on this region: ‘The Eastern Partnership is at the heart of EU foreign policy’, ‘Belarusians courageously demand democratic change’, ‘The EU continues to stand with the people of Belarus’, and ‘Ukraine: reforms must continue’.