From Global Europe to the Neighborhood: time for a new strategy

The European Union is standing at a strategic crossroads. The Lisbon treaty and the establishment of the External Action Service provide the potential for a more coherent, effective and visible foreign and security policy. The power shift occurring at the global level, the increasing complexity of its security context and EU’s current crisis seem indeed to demand a strategic review of the EU’s foreign policy priorities.

This would involve, more specifically, a prioritization of the European neighborhood. To become a significant actor on the global stage, the EU thus first needs to rethink and strengthen its role as a regional power. Both the Arab Spring in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and the deadlock transitions of the Eastern partners, represent enormous, pressing challenges that require an enhanced and more strategic engagement from the EU.

ISPI: Analysis: From Global Europe to the Neighborhood: time for a new strategy [PDF] http://www.ispionline.it/sites/default/files/pubblicazioni/analysis_74_20112.pdf

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