EU foreign policy: no major breakthrough despite multiple crises

Abstract:

The financial crises and profound external relations challenges provide a window of opportunity to upgrade EU foreign policy. Yet, whilst multiple crises faced by the EU today play a prominent role in the Union’s foreign policy discourse, escape from ‘EU decision traps’ at the policy level has often not been achieved. Changes were incremental in nature, were largely pre-structured by the 2009 Lisbon agenda, and resulted only in the marginal use of scale effects, synergies, and cost savings at the EU level. Rather than engaging in bold steps towards greater integration of EU foreign policy, EU countries have favoured technocratic reforms, closer cooperation among like-minded member states, reliance on NATO or national action. Though the EU has recently launched high profile review-processes of its foreign policy, it remains to be seen whether this will translate into tangible results.