A joined-up Union in counterterrorism and public diplomacy: Let's stay on the right track!

The search for a more effective method of work has been explicitly mentioned in the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) through the joined-up Union concept, which refers to a better coordination among policies, institutions and the Member States. This idea is not new for a Union that has been seeking more coherence for many years now. This paper offers an initial assessment on the implementation of the EUGS guidelines on these institutional working aspects. To do that, it analyses two specific policy areas mentioned in the 2016 Roadmap on the follow-up to the Global Strategy, and selected as a priority by the Foreign Affairs Council: counterterrorism and public diplomacy. The analysis suggests that the most recent initiatives are following the EUGS aspirations but they should be considered the product of a process that started many years before the Strategy, and has been backed by institutional innovations and events. However, this is not to detract from the merit of the EUGS in strongly reaffirming a process that was already ongoing, and helping the EU to keep on the right track.