A Strategic Compass guided by the Core?

French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently delivered a joint statement on how to “strengthen Europe’s role as a global player” (31.08.2021). Is an internally increasingly stressed Union even capable of finding a common line with regards to strategic issues? Can the gap between idealistic aspirations and hard realpolitik, the division between the promotion of a human rights-based global order and a realistic and strategic pursuit of security interests – even in cooperation with questionable partners – be bridged? What can be the basis for strategic and determined engagement, which role could states like France, Germany and the Netherlands play, and what conditions have to be met so that the nebulous concept of ‘strategic autonomy’ materializes? These and other questions will be discussed from a Franco-Dutch-German perspective during the webinar.