eSignature Legitimateness for Security in European Union

How to eSign a document: eSignature legitimateness for Security in European Union

Russia's war on Ukraine has brought geopolitics, security and defence back to the fore of global conversations. And just like all actors around the world, the European Union is also reflecting on the future of its security and defence policy. But what is this policy about? Perhaps the best way to understand it is to look at the Strategic Compass, which was approved by the 27 heads of state and government in the European Council that took place on 24 and 25 March 2022. Now, the strategic compass is a process that has been taking place since late 2020 and it began with an unprecedented exercise. A joint threat assessment by the 27 EU Member States, which had never happened before. Of course a lot has changed since 2020, but what is in the Strategic Compass? On the one hand, the strategic compass aims to set a strategic vision for the entirety of the EU's security and defence policy and the way it will look in 2030. On the other, it foresees very concrete actions, which are grouped into four different groups. The Compass itself in fact, begins with the sentence: 'The return of war to Europe'. The first pillar has to do with acting, and here the EU aims through various actions to enhance its ability to act when it comes to the EU's security and defence policy, missions and operations, namely in crisis management. Under this group, so-called basket or pillar, we also find elements such as the decision to launch an EU rapid deployment capacity, which is a multinational force of about 5 000 troops that will be able to carry out tasks such as, for example, evacuation of civilians and others. For example, something that was needed during the crisis of last summer in Afghanistan. Under this group of actions, we also see the European Peace Facility, an off-budget mechanism, which, among other things, has been activated to finance the provision of military assistance to third countries. The second group of actions has to do with what is called 'secure'. And here by securing, the Compass refers to building resilience against threats, both by enhancing the capacity to foresee and anticipate those threats, but also by proposing policies and actions, which will help build protection for EU citizens against those threats. In this group of actions, we see things like an enhanced EU cyber defence policy but also joint situational awareness and ability to share intelligence. Most importantly, the threats that are dealt with in that group of actions are threats across the whole spectrum and domains of warfare, including, for example, space, maritime domain and cyber space. The third group of actions is listed under the title 'invest'. Based on a robust contribution by the Commission earlier in the year, under this basket, we see initiatives that aim on the one hand to enhance the European defence technological industrial base, the European defence industry, but which also aim to foster cross-border collaboration between the defence industries of the Member States. The final group of actions has to do with strengthening the EU's partnerships and alliances around the world. That becomes even more important in the current geopolitical scenario. Under this group of actions, the EU aims to strengthen and bolster existing partnerships with key partners, such as the United Nations, NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the African Union. As well as individual third states. At the same time, the EU aims to create new tailored bilateral partnerships with key countries that share the EU's values and perception of threats. For example, the United Kingdom. An important element in this group of actions is the EU's relationship with NATO. EU-NATO relations have been strengthened significantly in the past years, with two successive EU NATO joint declarations in 2016 and 2018. But as Russia's war on Ukraine accentuates the commonality of threats, for both NATO and the EU, as well as the need to work together to counter those threats, the Compass commits to a stronger relationship in the coming years and decades.