Ministers of European affairs launch European Commission’s Strategic Foresight Network

TALLINN – Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop on Monday represented Estonia at the informal meeting of the European affairs ministers of the European Union in Coimbra, Portugal, where the European Commission’s Strategic Foresight Network was launched and the European Union's resilience and open strategic autonomy were also discussed.

Estonia has set long-term goals in the "Estonia 2035" strategy with the aim of increasing and supporting people's well-being, so that Estonia would be the best place to live and work in in a few decades. At the same time, Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop emphasized the need for EU member states to work together to address the global challenges of the future, such as security, health, energy, digital technology, climate change, the economy or other areas.

"Faced with the challenges posed by growing global competition and uncertainty in the global economy and the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union must strengthen its resilience and competitiveness. This is needed to better protect the interests and values of our people and to strengthen our global position. At the same time, it is important to maintain one's openness in responding to challenges," the state secretary said.

According to the state secretary, the aim of the Strategic Foresight Network is to bring together foresight knowledge from the member states and the European Commission and to exchange information and cooperate on issues of strategic importance to the EU. These include, for example, the EU's open strategic autonomy, resilience and green and digital revolution capabilities. The wish also is to work with think tanks across Europe. The ambition is to make foresight a part of EU policy-making.