Head of BBN: Most countries favour EU strategic review
The great majority of high-ranking national security representatives of European Union countries agree that the EU should conduct a strategic review and then update its strategy, according to Poland's National Security Bureau (BBN) head Stanislaw Koziej.
The Thursday meeting in Warsaw of security officials from the European Union was the first of its kind and was held at Poland's initiative, Koziej said at a briefing afterwards.
Poland's National Security Bureau (BBN) wants heads of national security councils, advisers to heads of state and government and other officials responsible for national security in their countries to meet regularly. Koziej called this "an informal security council of EU member states."
"We wanted this to be a summit ... at which we would do some serious strategic thinking about Europe's security," the BBN head explained.
"Just a few months ago, work on (an amended EU security strategy) had very few supporters. Today, including at this meeting, the great majority of participants support it," Koziej said, adding that the strongest interest in a security debate was being shown by the outlying countries of the EU.
Other important elements of the discussion mentioned by Koziej included the need for a cohesive stance towards threats to the east and south of the EU and a comprehensive approach to security in view of multifaceted threats: military, civil, political, economic and informational.
The meeting was divided into two parts: a public debate at the Warsaw Security Forum and closed talks at the Presidential Palace. The discussion's focus was the challenges of European security before the EU summit in June 2015 on the Common Security and Defence Policy.
Source: PAP