This article tries to present an appropriate redefinition of EU policy towards North Africa and the Sahel, both geographically and in strategic terms, as set forth in the new European Strategy (June 2016). The article compares the principles and the evolution of the European Security Strategy (2003) and the European Neighbourhood Policy with the new European Global Strategy of June 2016. The new Strategy is considered as a guide for the implementation of the EU foreign and security policy, inter alia, in its periphery. Unfortunately, the conception of the region is rooted in the past.