The Implications of the Euro Crisis for European Foreign Policy – Lessons from Crisis Management and International Trade

Abstract:

This article investigates the foreign policy consequences of the euro crisis. Two distinctive foreign policy areas are investigated: crisis management in North Africa and the negotiation of free trade agreements with the US and India. The article employs an analytical framework that focuses on three key aspects shaping EU policy: capabilities, cohesion and context. The results suggest considerable changes in each, but not only in one direction: there are mechanisms driving policy in different directions which suggest a nuanced conclusion is required. The overarching findings of the article, however, are that the foreign policy machinery of the EU has been rather resilient to the financial crisis but that great variation exists both between different foreign policy areas and between the different components that make up the EU as an international actor.