– establishing clear priorities and strategic guidelines for the CFSP as an essential part of the process of applying our diplomatic, economic, financial, development and – where necessary – crisis management resources more effectively in pursuit of the Union's foreign and security policy, – setting out a framework for assessing existing strategic partners and developing new partnerships, including with international and regional organisations. – setting out a roadmap for making progress on important innovations of the Lisbon Treaty, in particular (1) by making operational the assignment of special tasks and missions to a core group of Member States, (2) through the establishment by capable and willing Member States of permanent structured cooperation in defence, and (3) by enhancing the role of, and providing more resources for, the European Defence Agency, – addressing acute problems in CSDP decision-making, inter alia in relation to funding procedures and the financing of operations, that result in incomprehensible delays between the taking of political decisions to launch a mission and the actual deployment of that mission on the ground (Libya and Mali being the most recent in a long line of examples), including through a reassessment of the purpose and capability of the EU Battlegroups, thereby improving the overall framework for streamlining CSDP political decision-making; 25. Calls on the Council to request that the VP/HR set out in the next Annual Report her foreign policy objectives for the years 2014 and 2015, along with the timeframe and necessary resources for their implementation; stresses that these priorities should focus on the EU’s strategic aims, starting with the transatlantic partnership, the economic and political development of its Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods, and the Middle East Peace Process; 26. Calls on the Council and the VP/HR, when drawing up future Annual Reports on the CFSP, to engage with the Committee on Foreign Affairs at an early stage in order to discuss foreign policy objectives for the coming years and provide EU citizens with a clear statement concerning the evolution, priorities and progress of the Union’s foreign policy, thus reassessing and demonstrating the VP/HR’s role as a leader in the EU's foreign policy; 27. Welcomes the initiative of holding a European Council Summit in December 2013 on the future of European defence, as an opportunity to review the EU's strategic goals and security interests, concepts that should be further developed in a White Book on European defence; calls for this meeting to deliver a clear roadmap with timelines for achieving key objectives, including, in the first instance, the timely review of the European Security Strategy and the use of a White Book serving as a common template for concurrent national security and defence reviews; stresses the need to develop closer cooperation in order to guarantee military security and achieve savings; STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: CONCENTRIC CIRCLES OF PEACE, SECURITY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 28. Welcomes the development of ‘strategic partnerships’ as a format for the EU's engagement with both established and emerging powers; contends, however, that the concept requires clear and consistent criteria as regards its place in the EU foreign policy architecture; calls for future decisions on strategic partners to be framed in accordance with the foreign policy priorities of the Union and for Parliament to be regularly informed ahead of decisions on