In his address to the IIEA, Pierre Vimont discusses the quest for genuine European Strategic Autonomy and its implications for transatlantic relations and EU neighbourhood policy. He highlights the need for the EU to adopt a more geopolitical mindset, and explores the new foreign policy priorities and dimensions which the Union must now address, including the Indo-Pacific region, Africa, and in the areas of digital and climate.

About the Speaker:

Pierre Vimont is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe. His research focuses on the European Neighbourhood Policy, transatlantic relations, and French foreign policy. Vimont was the first executive secretary-general of the European External Action Service (EEAS), from December 2010 to March 2015. During his thirty-eight-year diplomatic career with the French foreign service, he served as ambassador to the United States from 2007 to 2010, ambassador to the European Union from 1999 to 2002, and chief of staff to three former French foreign ministers. He holds the title, Ambassador of France, a dignity bestowed for life to only a few French career diplomats.