Is Europe the "Second Superpower" of the 21st Century?

Usually, when the topic of European Union foreign policy comes up, responses range from doubts as to whether the 27 - member body can even be said to have a coherent foreign policy, to questions on whether EU foreign policy matters much in a world increasingly dominated by rising powers such as China, India, and Brazil, as well as the United States.  But at a Brookings Institution event on April 8th entitled "The Foreign Policy of the European Union: Assessing Results, Ushering in A New Era," panelists sounded a generally optimistic note on the future of a common foreign policy for the EU, and how Europe might still exert a positive influence on the world outside its borders.

Featured speakers at the briefing were Giuliano Amato, former Prime Minister of Italy and Vice President of the European Constitutional Convention; Daniel Hamilton, Director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies; Andrew Moravcsik, Professor of Politics and Director of the European Union Program at Princeton University; and Pierre Vimont, French Ambassador to the United States.  Former Prime Minister Amato noted that Americans are often much more enthusiastic about the EU than are Europeans; however, he asserted that grounds for optimism about the Union do exist.  He pointed out that the expansion of the EU to include twelve new nations, ten of which were formerly Communist states, since 2004 illustrates the "transformative power of Europe" and the attraction that the EU holds for non-member states in the region.  While Europe can play a positive role outside its own region of the world, Amato said that Europeans will have to work with the U.S. in order to tackle global problems, thus making the transatlantic relationship more important now than ever.

Daniel Hamilton described the EU as lacking a traditional foreign policy for the time being but stated that it does have an "untraditional" one.  Specifically, the accession of formerly Communist states to the EU in the decades since the end of the Cold War represent an historic achievement in uniting former bitter enemies across the continent in a united Europe after centuries of bloodshed.  He added that the recently enacted Lisbon Treaty, which provides new foreign policy instruments if not a traditional foreign policy for the EU, challenges Europe to "step up" its collaborative work in areas such as homeland and justice issues, and humanitarian assistance around the world — 90 percent of which is currently provided by Europe.  Like Amato, he emphasized that strong U.S. - EU ties are essential in order for Europe to play a powerful role on the global stage in the future.

Professor Moravcsik cited several reasons for optimism about European foreign policy.  First, Europe is, in his words, the "second superpower" of the 21st century alongside the United States.  Also, he asserted that increasing decentralization of power in the EU, with more power being taken back by member states, would lead to a more effective Europe in the foreign policy sphere.  Finally, looking towards the future, he anticipated the EU playing a larger role in the areas of justice, home affairs, and development as more power devolves to individual European states.

The final panelist, Ambassador Vimont, remarked that the EU enlargement process of recent years has forced European countries to work together and was therefore useful.  In some ways, however, today's enlarged Europe is now a "victim" of its own success—how can a such a multilateral institution of twenty-seven diverse countries hope to function successfully?  He urged Europeans to find ways to increase their flexibility and ability to work together in order to promote European ideals and values around the world.  Vimont echoed earlier statements that in today's multipolar world, an improved transatlantic relationship is increasingly important and the time is right to work to improve U.S. - EU ties.

For more information on the event, please visit the Brookings Institution website at http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0408_european_union.aspx.