In a world of power shifts and radical uncertainty, of high intensity wars and hybrid threats, one thing is clear: we all need partners, to protect global security and achieve common goals. As European Union, we are well aware that we need to invest in these partnerships - as they do not deliver just by themselves.

So, one year ago, when we adopted the Strategic Compass, we committed ourselves to organise a special forum where the EU would invite its partners to discuss the changing security landscape; what the EU can offer; and what the EU and its partners can do together. This is perhaps a simple idea but one that takes time and effort to achieve. And that is precisely why we created the Schuman Forum.

I am pleased that we had Ministers and Chiefs of Defence from over 50 partner countries and organisations attending from four continents, in addition to many Foreign and Defence Ministers from our 27 EU member states plus influential think tankers and analysts. It demonstrates the genuine interest of our partners to strengthen their cooperation with the EU in the area of security and defence.

The meeting was named after Robert Schuman for a reason. He is famous, at least in Europe, for saying that:

Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.

What not many people know is that the very first sentence of his Schuman Declaration was:

World peace cannot be safeguarded without making the creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.

These words by Schuman inspired the creation of the Forum. We all know that today world peace is in danger; that we need creative efforts and partnerships to protect it; and that we must work, step by step, to build concrete solidarity amongst us.

I stressed in my opening remarks that the war against Ukraine and the wider changes in the security landscape left us no choice but to change the EU’s approach to security and defence.

Just a few weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, European leaders adopted the Strategic Compass and this week we published the first annual implementation report. It shows how we are advancing to build a Europe that can better protect its citizens and, in so doing, becomes more credible and attractive for our partners.

As always in Europe, we have a phrase for this. We call it strategic responsibility. We know that we need to be more active, take more risks and carry a greater share of the security burden. And we know that for all this we need to work more closely with partners. Not just regarding Ukraine but wherever peace and security are at stake.

In the different panels of the Forum, a wide range of challenges were discussed – from emerging threats and the impact of technologies, to the imperative of investing in resilience and prevention, to the privileged role of regional and multilateral organisations. I was struck by the positive tone of the discussions and the shared desire to be ambitious and result-oriented.

A lot of common ground emerged: many Ministers stressed the need for tailored partnerships, avoiding one one-size-fits all approaches; or the need to engage for the long-term; to draw lessons learned from past mistakes; to use a broad prism for what security means and recognise that threats are inter-linked; and tat partnerships must go beyond governments and involve the whole of society.

In my closing remarks I drew some first conclusions identifying some action tracks that we will pursue in the months ahead. We will organise a second edition of the Schuman Forum next year, to review together with our partners the progress made on those conclusions, and discuss next steps.

My personal conclusion from the inaugural Schuman Forum is that dialogue is the best investment in partnership. And for dialogue to succeed, it is vital to listen. I was struck how one Minister said that even if we share the same values we do not always share the same priorities - which is only logical given the differences in history and geography. We need to factor in these differences and invest in building bridges as we did during this Forum. Many partners expect more from us and we must keep in mind that the nature of security is global: we are in this together.

As EU we need to deliver on the commitments we have made and the expectations we have raised, not just close to home, in Ukraine and the Western Balkans, but around the world.