BRUSSELS, 19 March 2022, (TON): The EU summit on March 24-25 will approve the first ever EU defense concept, the EU Strategic Compass, the development of which was strongly influenced by the Russian operation in Ukraine.

This was announced to journalists on Friday by a source in the EU foreign policy service.

The source said “EU leaders on March 24-25 will approve the EU Strategic Compass, the development of which began about two years ago, but which was strongly influenced by the war in Ukraine.”

As the diplomat recalled, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Secu-rity Policy Josep Borrell, starting the preparation of the concept (in early 2020), said that Europe is in danger.

The source continued “you have to understand that this document is not directly related to the Ukrainian crisis, this document is focused on the next 5-10 years.”

The Ukrainian war, of course, is the most serious crisis in the [recent] decades, but the threats to European security are not only in Europe, but and beyond, including the Sahel and the Pacific, they also need to be answered.