New Global Challenges and European Security
In this special issue of Politique étrangère devoted to the proceedings of the conference organized by Ifri on April 10, 2019, in the Grand Amphitheater of the Sorbonne, on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary, discover the debate moderated by Nicole Gnesotto between Julian King, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Wolfgang Ischinger, Nathalie Tocci, Hubert Védrine.
Nicole Gnesotto
Regardless of the list that we will draw up of global challenges, and of those directly related to European security, it seems that two cross-cutting issues arise. The first concerns globalization. For the first time, we are facing non-Western globalization. What implications does this data have in terms of international security, international governance and European power? Will we take notice of this non-Western globalization, or will we continue to view ourselves as the global driving force? Is it Westernization of the world or globalization of the West? The readings are very different and more or less conflicting.
The second issue: it focuses on the future of security issues affecting the European Union. The major challenge to European security may not come from the outside, but from within. Is the European Union up for grabs? Would a populist or even fascist European Union be preferable to no Union? A provocative question, but such developments are not entirely unthinkable.
Julian, you were the first European Commissioner for the Security Union, the Commission invented the position for you... And you may be the last European Commissioner for the United Kingdom, which puts you in a privileged position to tell us about the global challenges seen both from the UK and the European Union. Jean-Louis Bourlanges had a notable phrase about Brexit: “Before Brexit, Great Britain had one foot out and one foot in; after Brexit, it will be exactly the opposite.”
Europe faced with a new world
Julian King
We face global international threats that often target the West, and often Europe and our values. To combat such threats, for example terrorist or cyber, European cooperation between countries sharing the same values is crucial. If Europeans are asked to make a list of their concerns before the European elections, security, the fight against terrorism, against cyberthreats and fake news are at the top of the list.
We have made some progress in recent years in the fight against terrorism, by blocking access to arms and funding. We are developing our resilience to avoid the worst; we have strengthened our external borders; we are acting upstream to fight against radicalization that leads to violence. Online radicalization remains a big problem. France is quite advanced in this area and against this type of threat, but we must still work together. […]
Julian King is European Commissioner for the Security Union.
Jean-Marie Guéhenno is a former Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations.
Wolfgang Ischinger is Chairman of the Munich Security Conference.
Nathalie Tocci is Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI, Rome) and Special Advisor to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Hubert Védrine is a former French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Nicole Gnesotto is President of the Institut des Hautes études de défense nationale (Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defense (IHEDN).
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New Global Challenges and European Security
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Text published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 91, No. 2, 2026.
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