Council of Ministers: Foreign Affairs

DEAR DELEGATES,

First and foremost, welcome to Yale Model Government Europe! I am truly honored and excited to be chairing the national cabinet of Germany along with the Foreign Affairs Council this year. I hope that our committee and the conference as a whole become invaluable experiences for everyone involved.

But first, a little bit about myself: My name is Eujin Jang, and I am a member of Yale Class of 2020 in Silliman College. Although born in Seoul, I grew up all over the United States (mainly in Atlanta), and I currently live in Boston. At Yale, I am considering pursuing a major in Economics and Mathematics. I participated in MUN throughout high school and found the experience truly valuable. Therefore, I am continuing my involvement in college by serving on the secretariats of several other Yale International Relations Association (YIRA) conferences, including Yale Model United Nations (YMUN), Yale Model United Nations Korea (YMUNK), Yale Model United Nations Taiwan (YMUNT), and the International Relations Symposium at Yale (IRSY). On campus, I am also part of the Elmseed Enterprise Fund, Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund, and Yale College Council. In my free time, I'm a huge music fan (especially of hip-hop) and have been playing basketball for ten years (fantasy sports enthusiast). Napping and eating good food are some other notable passions of mine.

Besides serving as a committee chair, I am also serving as this year’s Under-Secretary General of Finance, and I cannot wait to see what great things and invaluable memories will be created at YMGE 2017. I am greatly looking forward to meeting you all in person this upcoming November. Meanwhile, feel free to reach out to me at eujin.jang@yale.edu with any questions, comments, or concerns regarding our committee or the conference in general. See you in Budapest!

Best Regards,

Eujin Jang

The Council of the European Union acts as one single legal entity but it meets and operates in ten different ‘configurations’ based on field of expertise. However, any legislative act adopted is done so under the name of the Council of the EU as a whole, regardless of which specific configuration adopted it.

One of the previously mentioned configurations is the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). The FAC is primarily responsible for all EU external action, which includes but is not limited to foreign policy, defense and security, trade, development and cooperation, and humanitarian aid. The FAC is composed of all the foreign ministers from each member state, with defense, development, and/or trade ministers participating depending on the topic at hand.

The Foreign Affairs Council’s main purpose is to “ensure the unity, consistency and effectiveness” of the EU’s external action. However, it also plays other roles such as adopting measures implementing EU’s common commercial policy and mandating the European Commission to open trade negotiations and issuing negotiating directives. The role of the FAC that has been increasingly relevant (and also most relevant to this year’s topic) is its power in defining and implementing the EU’s foreign and security policy. In particular, the Council can launch EU crisis management actions, both civil and military, and adopt measures to implement policies, including sanctions. However, it is important to make the distinction that the FAC primarily focuses on the EU’s international diplomacy and relations rather than national security.

Terrorist attacks within the last two decades have increasingly centered on the European continent, and while the fight against terrorism primarily remains with the member states, the European Union has steadily been prioritizing playing a role that can better address the cross-border nature of the threat of terrorism. By the nature of its jurisdiction, the Foreign Affairs Council has its fair share of involvement regarding national security and terrorism in Europe. The following case studies discuss the FAC’s previous milestone policies and actions regarding counter-terrorism.

Response to the 2015 Paris Attacks:

After the terrorist attacks on Paris in January 15, 2015, the European Union reoriented and accelerated its policies and responses against terrorism. On February 12, the EU agreed upon a statement outlining its plan for the next coming months. One of the most significant plans of actions was enforcing cooperation with international partners in the fight against terrorism, especially in the southern neighboring parts of Syria and Libya.

In this statement, the Council acknowledged its need to address conflicts, particularly in the EU’s Southern Neighborhood, through strategic re-evaluation of EU policy approaches. The EU would increase engagement with third countries on security issues and counter-terrorism through partnered projects such as border control and EU aid. Furthermore, the EU reconfirmed its intentions to sustain coordinated international engagement with bodies such as the United Nations and the Global Counterterrorism Forum, as it believes that cross-cultural and international dialogue is necessary to protect fundamental freedoms worldwide.

The separate meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on February 9, 2015, also outlined critical policies. The Council strongly condemned the recent attacks and emphasized the urgency of the terrorism threat. In specific, it stressed international cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts. That is, “While Member States have the primary responsibility for addressing terrorism, the EU as such can add value in many ways. The actions taken in the area of justice and home affairs need to be complemented by external engagement and outreach, especially to countries in the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel and the Gulf. Close coordination between internal and external action on the one hand, and between relevant EU actors and EU Member States on the other hand, will enhance the impact of our common efforts.”

The FAC declared several instruments through which it would enhance counter-terrorism and security measures in the future. First, it announced intentions to strengthen partnerships with key countries, mainstreaming counter-terrorism in the EU’s political dialogue with third countries, especially in high-risk regions. It sought to increase dialogue with other regional bodies such as the League of Arab States, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union, as well as constructing individual actions plans with specific countries. Next, the EU would be directed to support capacity building projects addressing law enforcement, criminal justice, border control, etc. in countries such as Iraq that request EU assistance. In prevention of terrorism, the Council also endorsed the importance of countering radicalization and violent extremism. Most importantly, the FAC promoted the importance of international cooperation in all counter-terrorism policies and actions it would take in the future.

The policies adopted in response to the 2015 Paris attacks remain the cornerstone of the EU’s external engagement on counter-terrorism. However, the threat of terrorism has repeatedly surfaced on the European continent since then, and the EU’s work in this area has respectively intensified.

Response to the 2017 Attacks on Paris, Westminster, Stockholm, Manchester, London

The first half of 2017 alone featured a lengthy series of significant terrorist attacks all over Europe. In response to the increased frequency of attacks and the intensified targeting of European countries, on June 19, 2017, the Foreign Affairs Council met yet again to debate the external aspects of counter-terrorism. The FAC ministers primarily highlighted that counter-terrorism was the single highest security priority for the European Council. This video was released by the FAC in response to these attacks in confirmation of their dedication to combatting terrorism.

The FAC adopted a variety of conclusions on the EU’s external action on counter-terrorism, again emphasizing its unconditional condemnation of terrorism regardless of agent or purpose. Because terrorism remains one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, the EU shows continued interest in working with international partners. The continuation of counter-terrorism structures remains critical to reinforce the EU’s ability to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism measures, including in EU delegation through security experts. The FAC also recommended the implementation of an internal-external nexus intended to strengthen coherence between internal and external actions regarding security. In specific, the Justice and Home Affairs agencies were called upon to take a more active role with third countries. Furthermore, the FAC again highlighted the importance of strengthened cooperation with critical regions (Middle East, North Africa, Western Balkans, Turkey, Sahel, and the Horn of Africa) through measures such as enhanced political dialogue, partnered counter-terrorism projects, financial support for counter-terrorism, preventing radical extremism, and reinforcing strategic communications (StratComms Task Force South). International cooperation with the EU’s key strategic partners (United States, Canada, Australia, Schengen partners, United Nations, NATO, Global Counter-terrorism Forum, Interpol, Global Coalition against Da’esh) was also stressed. Finally, the FAC identified key thematic areas to target, such as violent extremism and terrorist recruitment and radicalization on the internet. The challenge of foreign terrorist fighters was particularly addressed in detail, including the issues of aviation security, firearms trafficking, terrorist financing, and the relationship between organized crime and terrorism.

The issues of counter-terrorism and national security remain some of the international community’s greatest challenges, and for the European Union, they become increasingly critical to address by the year. However, they are also relatively recently escalated issues and developments. Thus delegates must build a thorough sense of historical reference regarding terrorism policies and attacks. The most successful delegates will be able to mentally refer to a general timeline of recent attacks and significant events so that they can identify main trends in developments and target them in their potential solutions.

Next, delegates must keep in mind that the Foreign Affairs Council is but one of the many configurations of the Council of the European Union. This topic guide specifically addressed actions and policies directly proposed by the FAC, but it is imperative for delegates to understand policies on counter-terrorism that apply to the EU as a whole. In particular, delegates should especially familiarize themselves the Justice and Home Affairs configurations, as they most frequently work in conjunction to address counter-terrorism and national security issues. Many comprehensive solutions will involve the cooperation of multiple council configurations, so delegates should consider possibilities for inter-council solutions.

Beyond the EU, because the Foreign Affairs Council deals with relationships and policies regarding external entities, delegates should be generally familiar with the policies of other international bodies and states. In particular, the United States is the EU’s primary strategic partner in the fight against terrorism, so delegates would favor from an overview of U.S. policy on the topics. Additionally, the EU frequently cooperates and endorses United Nations actions regarding these matters. Because the EU increasingly works with third countries on counter-terrorism measures, delegates should also research conditions and relationships with such countries. A thorough background on counter-terrorism and national security policies from all over the world will empower delegates to identify potential partnerships and discern patterns in policies, a critical task of the FAC.

Finally, delegates’ research for the council of ministers should be a perpetual process. From the release of this topic guide to the date of the conference, there are no boundaries as to what developments of the topics may occur. To best prepare for the crisis simulation aspect of this committee, delegates should regularly keep up to speed with rapid developments in the real world as well.