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European Union Global Strategy
underpin sustainable development, human rights protection and rules-
based governance.
Societal resilience will be strengthened by deepening relations with civil
society, notably in its efforts to hold governments accountable. We will reach
out more to cultural organisations, religious communities, social partners
and human rights defenders, and speak out against the shrinking space
for civil society including through violations of the freedoms of speech and
association. Positive change can only be home-grown, and may take years
to materialise. Our commitment to civil society will therefore be long-term.
We will nurture societal resilience also by deepening work on education,
culture and youth to foster pluralism, coexistence and respect.
Finally, the EU will seek to enhance energy and environmental resilience.
Energy transition is one of the major challenges in our surrounding regions,
but must be properly managed to avoid fuelling social tensions. Climate
change and environmental degradation exacerbate potential conflict,
in light of their impact on desertification, land degradation, and water
and food scarcity. Mirroring security sector reform efforts, energy and
environmental sector reform policies can assist partner countries along a
path of energy transition and climate action. Through such efforts, we will
encourage energy liberalisation, the development of renewables, better
regulation and technological transfers, alongside climate change mitigation
and adaptation. We will also support governments to devise sustainable
responses to food production and the use of water and energy through
development, diplomacy and scientific cooperation.
A More Effective Migration Policy
A special focus in our work on resilience will be on origin and transit countries
of migrants and refugees. We will significantly step up our humanitarian
efforts in these countries, focusing on education, women and children.
Together with countries of origin and transit, we will develop common and
tailor-made approaches to migration featuring development, diplomacy,
mobility, legal migration, border management, readmission and return.
Through development, trust funds, preventive diplomacy and mediation we
will work with countries of origin to address and prevent the root causes
of displacement, manage migration, and fight trans-border crime. We will
support transit countries by improving reception and asylum capacities,
and by working on migrants’ education, vocational training and livelihood
opportunities. We must stem irregular flows by making returns more
effective as well as by ensuring regular channels for human mobility. This