The current international system is complex. In addition to great power competition, we see emerging middle-sized countries like Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia take on an increasingly influential role on the world stage.
While the transatlantic relationship has become closer, as the US has proven crucial to the security of the European Union (EU) in the Ukraine war, the EU is aware that a looming return of Trump makes this relationship vulnerable. At the same time, many of the emerging middle powers are implementing a strategy of hedging leading to a shift in the EU’s relations with states of the Global South.
In this context, the EU is increasingly in need of determining its own agenda, priorities, and partnerships, while reassessing its conventional friends and foes. This article will look at some of the weaknesses and strengths of the EU in doing so, with an eye on what it has called its southern neighbourhood, and provide a number of recommendations.
The EU needs partnerships, both internal and external, to manage interdependencies and develop its position in an international context of complex relationships.
The EU’s image on the international stage
The EU, unlike the emerging middle-sized powers, is not a nation-state. It is an institution that needs partnerships, both internal and external, to manage interdependencies and develop its position in an international context of complex relationships.
However, this is difficult when the EU is often seen as sending conflicting messages on its foreign policies, whether this is because of differing ideas on security and foreign policy by its member states, or because of its internal structures. Contradictory EU messaging also takes place between different institutions of the EU, as is evident for example following the EU Commission president Von der Leyen´s visit to Israel in the aftermath of the horrific events unfolding in the region.
In addition to the mixed messaging, the EU is often perceived as having double standards and a top-down mentality in its approach to others. This negative image is also related to the EU´s perceived inability to implement lessons learned where its interventions or missions have failed. Examples are abundant, maybe the most striking is the Sahel, where the EU has repeated similar interventions despite research or policy recommendations by experts who advise differently.
Internally, the EU and its member states have in the last half-decade seen a resurgence of right-wing populist movements. Young people are increasingly voting for conservative nationalist parties and in Italy, Finland, and Greece, to name a few, governments have shifted to the right. The formation of these governments at the member state level has implications for the functioning of the EU on the international stage, as right populist movements form a challenge to shaping long-term policies on critical issues such as climate, foreign policy, and migration. The latter, migration, has also been an important determinant factor in shaping the EU´s image and relations with its southern neighborhood. The EU’s migration policies such as border externalisation have had negative consequences for these neighbouring states. Yet, despite the urgency of the topic, neither the EU nor its member states have been able to develop a long-term solution for the issue. By now, the discourse around migration is so politicized, that discussing the topic in a constructive manner has become difficult
The EU remains a strong economic power with donor capacity in the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sectors.
The EU’s points of strength on the international stage
Despite these challenges, the EU remains a strong economic power, and much of the EU´s importance on the international stage, specifically in the southern neighborhood, is derived from its donor capacity in the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sectors. However, this has often been done from what critics describe as a moralizing and neo-colonial standpoint, and much has been written on how to transform the donor sector towards more equal partnerships.
Lastly, the EU is a community of laws and regulations. Being a strong economic power, EU values and norms are often translated to its trade regulations and other legislation which have an (indirect) effect on other regions. This is a strong way for the EU to practice indirect foreign policy. This normative power sets the EU apart from other states and institutions and will be increasingly important in a 21st century in which ¨technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, increasingly require legal and ethical safeguards.¨
The EU should invest more in partnerships and cooperation with its southern neighbourhood, both at the state and institutional level, and on the bases of equality and dialogue.
The EU of the future: strategic and equal partnershipsÂ
The EU needs partnerships to survive. In a world of fragmented and multipolar relations and increased assertiveness of middle-sized states, the EU needs to have a clear vision of what strategic partnerships it wants to cultivate. Here I would have some recommendations on how the EU should position itself, particularly towards its southern neighbourhood:
First, the EU should invest more in partnerships and cooperation, both at the state and institutional level and on the basis of equality and dialogue. This includes building trust with new partners by making concessions to show goodwill and showing that it sees and considers others as equals.
Second, while nobody can dictate the rules of the international order, the EU should hold on to its emphasis on its normative strength in its external relations but should do so on the basis that they are also held to standard within the EU, and are redefined in a manner that is consistent, not conditional, and not neo-colonial.
Lastly, the EU should invest more in people-to-people relations and relations with actors at the sub-state level in terms of consultation, dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and development. These are crucial to create increased mutual understanding and mutually beneficial partnerships between the EU and other regions of the world. People-to-people relations can further help curb the trend towards national populism within the EU and can aid in developing effective policies and strategies to issues and challenges such as climate change and migration.
The EU and the need for new partnerships
By Desirée Custers
Middle East & North Africa
The current international system is complex. In addition to great power competition, we see emerging middle-sized countries like Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia take on an increasingly influential role on the world stage.
While the transatlantic relationship has become closer, as the US has proven crucial to the security of the European Union (EU) in the Ukraine war, the EU is aware that a looming return of Trump makes this relationship vulnerable. At the same time, many of the emerging middle powers are implementing a strategy of hedging leading to a shift in the EU’s relations with states of the Global South.
In this context, the EU is increasingly in need of determining its own agenda, priorities, and partnerships, while reassessing its conventional friends and foes. This article will look at some of the weaknesses and strengths of the EU in doing so, with an eye on what it has called its southern neighbourhood, and provide a number of recommendations.
The EU’s image on the international stage
The EU, unlike the emerging middle-sized powers, is not a nation-state. It is an institution that needs partnerships, both internal and external, to manage interdependencies and develop its position in an international context of complex relationships.
However, this is difficult when the EU is often seen as sending conflicting messages on its foreign policies, whether this is because of differing ideas on security and foreign policy by its member states, or because of its internal structures. Contradictory EU messaging also takes place between different institutions of the EU, as is evident for example following the EU Commission president Von der Leyen´s visit to Israel in the aftermath of the horrific events unfolding in the region.
In addition to the mixed messaging, the EU is often perceived as having double standards and a top-down mentality in its approach to others. This negative image is also related to the EU´s perceived inability to implement lessons learned where its interventions or missions have failed. Examples are abundant, maybe the most striking is the Sahel, where the EU has repeated similar interventions despite research or policy recommendations by experts who advise differently.
Internally, the EU and its member states have in the last half-decade seen a resurgence of right-wing populist movements. Young people are increasingly voting for conservative nationalist parties and in Italy, Finland, and Greece, to name a few, governments have shifted to the right. The formation of these governments at the member state level has implications for the functioning of the EU on the international stage, as right populist movements form a challenge to shaping long-term policies on critical issues such as climate, foreign policy, and migration. The latter, migration, has also been an important determinant factor in shaping the EU´s image and relations with its southern neighborhood. The EU’s migration policies such as border externalisation have had negative consequences for these neighbouring states. Yet, despite the urgency of the topic, neither the EU nor its member states have been able to develop a long-term solution for the issue. By now, the discourse around migration is so politicized, that discussing the topic in a constructive manner has become difficult
The EU’s points of strength on the international stage
Despite these challenges, the EU remains a strong economic power, and much of the EU´s importance on the international stage, specifically in the southern neighborhood, is derived from its donor capacity in the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sectors. However, this has often been done from what critics describe as a moralizing and neo-colonial standpoint, and much has been written on how to transform the donor sector towards more equal partnerships.
Lastly, the EU is a community of laws and regulations. Being a strong economic power, EU values and norms are often translated to its trade regulations and other legislation which have an (indirect) effect on other regions. This is a strong way for the EU to practice indirect foreign policy. This normative power sets the EU apart from other states and institutions and will be increasingly important in a 21st century in which ¨technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, increasingly require legal and ethical safeguards.¨
The EU of the future: strategic and equal partnershipsÂ
The EU needs partnerships to survive. In a world of fragmented and multipolar relations and increased assertiveness of middle-sized states, the EU needs to have a clear vision of what strategic partnerships it wants to cultivate. Here I would have some recommendations on how the EU should position itself, particularly towards its southern neighbourhood:
First, the EU should invest more in partnerships and cooperation, both at the state and institutional level and on the basis of equality and dialogue. This includes building trust with new partners by making concessions to show goodwill and showing that it sees and considers others as equals.
Second, while nobody can dictate the rules of the international order, the EU should hold on to its emphasis on its normative strength in its external relations but should do so on the basis that they are also held to standard within the EU, and are redefined in a manner that is consistent, not conditional, and not neo-colonial.
Lastly, the EU should invest more in people-to-people relations and relations with actors at the sub-state level in terms of consultation, dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and development. These are crucial to create increased mutual understanding and mutually beneficial partnerships between the EU and other regions of the world. People-to-people relations can further help curb the trend towards national populism within the EU and can aid in developing effective policies and strategies to issues and challenges such as climate change and migration.
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