The EU Strategic Partnerships Review: Ten Guiding Principles

The European Union (EU) will survive the sovereign debt crisis, despite gloomy predictions to the contrary. But can the EU survive in the post-crisis global order? Can Europe make its voice heard in a multipolar world no longer dominated solely by Western concerns?

One factor that will determine the EU’s future success is its ability to cooperate with great powers and to put itself at the centre of coalitions to cope with global challenges. The EU has developed the concept of ‘strategic partnership’ to help it achieve this goal and it has designated ten countries as strategic partners. But the EU’s strategic partnerships have been seriously tested recently, and their strategic nature has come into question.