"Issued in March 2022, the Strategic Compass is meant to create an active and, at the same time, reactive framework on the managing of EU security and defence related aspects. After several failures in the process and much criticism on EU’s inability to stand on its feet when it comes to protecting itself, the Strategic Compass comes with magic words, such as “reducing dependencies”, or the four directions – Act, Secure, Invest and Partner. The aim of this article is to provide a critical analysis of the Strategic Compass from the perspective of the confidence bestowed in the power of the European Union to actually become a security provider “for real”. Although the likelihood of that occurring in the near future is remote, the European Union has finally reached the mindset of turning the Strategic Compass into on the ground capabilities."