There are ten characteristics which should serve as a yardstick by which European foreign policy is measured strategically.
If the European Union aspires to lead change and participate in the creation of a new international order, its actions can’t be limited to effective crisis management or generous development aid.
Europe can and must play a more central role in addressing the nuclear dangers the international community faces.
If a new Ostpolitik is to have a really transformative effect in the six East European countries outside Russia, then its central component should be the perspective of eventual EU membership.
A strong European energy policy is the only way to reduce risks to energy security and make Europe more resilient to potential fallout from global events.
In a changing global context, the EU’s leadership interest lies in closer cooperation with both its traditional allies and fast developing powers.
Now, more than ever, Europe needs to create and support a unified strategic foreign policy if it wants to retain and strengthen its global influence.
To curb its declining global influence, the EU must be more effective in its foreign policy, concentrating on fewer priorities and making better use of the resources at its disposal.
As the world order evolves, Europe must continue to nurture and fortify its strategic partnerships, both in its neighborhood and worldwide.
To maintain global stability and prosperity, the EU should commit to strengthening efforts in widening and deepening its neighborhood.
Europe has key political, security, and economic roles to play in helping to consolidate the positive aspirations of its southern neighbors in the Middle East and North Africa.
The absence of rampant nationalism is an essential prerequisite to any common European identification and pursuit of common strategic aims.
In order for Europe to become a more efficient global actor, it must strengthen its political leadership and better identify its interests.
The route for a future strategic Europe lies in forging or strengthening alliances and partnerships, treating partners as partners, and intensifying constructive dialogue.
There can be no effective foreign policy or external projection for Europe unless the core economic strength and vitality of the continent are restored.
The greatest contribution Europe can make to strategic global affairs would be to reaffirm its singular model of a peaceful political, economic, and cultural integration.
In order to become a more competitive global actor, it is crucial that the EU first stabilize its economy and achieve a period of sustained growth.
While Europe and the United States may not always agree on foreign policy strategies, the EU has proven itself a valuable ally for Washington and a strategic actor in its own right.
The EU needs to decide on clear foreign policy priorities if it wants to generate a sense of purpose for the European External Action Service.
The EU needs to develop a real foreign policy and adopt a more political and differentiated approach to its southern neighborhood.
Europe must be able to define and implement a strategic role for itself in the global arena, confident of its capabilities and values, aware of its interests, and able to define its parameters.
If the EU wants to get serious about using its soft power to defend human rights, it should keep an eye on the burgeoning civil societies in its greater neighborhood.
The EU must learn how to overcome the current economic crisis before it can hope to successfully implement the Lisbon Treaty and strengthen its foreign policy.
Successful foreign and security policies require the backing of a united European society that must learn to adapt to changing global realities.
Mainstreaming Asia within the strategic thinking of the EU could provide new solutions to global challenges.
Europe must think and act in a unified strategic manner if it wants to save its struggling currency and strengthen its military and government capabilities.
After their experience in the campaign in Libya, Europeans will have to decide to either develop a unified security and defense identity or, given recent expenses and difficulties, abandon such efforts altogether.
If Europe is to strengthen its global influence, it must first deepen partnerships across its neighborhood.
If Europe wants to be a strategic actor and ensure the security of its citizens, it must undertake measures to reshape its economy.
The leaders of the European Union should begin an open dialogue to increase Europe’s global engagement and seek a new strategic unity with the United States.
Europe’s future demands more integration, backed up by the interests of a maximum number of Europeans, not greater centralized bureaucracy.
Europe should not ignore its still formidable military power and its historical ties to certain parts of the developing world in an attempt to build a new, soft, Brussels-based power.
Europe must develop a strategic sense of itself, its influence, and its dependence on the global economy if it is to achieve stability and cohesion at home and play an active role abroad.
If the Egyptian government has instigated the sudden crisis with the United States in anticipation of a domestic confrontation, then the worrying implication is that it is actively preparing to go on the offensive and trigger such a confrontation.
With the death of Kim Jong-Il, global attention has refocused and intensified on North Korea and the Six Party Talks—halted since April 2009.
At this point, Hamas and Fatah have reached only an agreement to agree. It remains to be seen how much more, if anything, they can accomplish.
The recent bill on the State Duma elections seems like a concession to the opposition, but in reality it would actually be a serious obstacle to the development of a full-fledged multiparty system and the strengthening of representative government.
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