The economies of the southern European Union continue to show poor performance, while the countries of the north try to impose austerity measures. Yet unemployment remains very high across the continent. As a reminder on May 1st--the May Day holiday dedicated to labor forces--The Globalist tweeted: “May 1, Europe's Labor Day: 26 million Europeans currently unemployed, a gruesome reminder.”
The economic statistics notwithstanding, the crisis is more political and intellectual than economic. The once-prevalent European worldview is waning. As former Prime Minister of Ireland John Bruton notes, “After almost 70 years of peace, Europeans seem to have forgotten why unity was so important, indulging nationalist sentiment without regard for its potential consequences. At the same time, they fail to grasp that their economies are too closely interconnected for independent economic policy to work.” Peace and stability is endangered, and replaced by the tumultuous years of anti-europeanism. What should be done then to alleviate the ongoing European suffering?
First and foremost, the European Union needs to revive its global prestige and attractiveness. To do so, the EU needs to implement a more robust foreign policy, and more European engagement in global issues is necessary. As Joost Lagendijk, former member of the European Parliament, notes: “Most of these debates between emboldened EU critics and defensive EU supporters focus on economic policies and the need for a new institutional framework. What has always surprised me is that so little attention is paid to the necessity for the EU to better coordinate its foreign and defense policy. Of course, there are the usual arguments claiming that member states will never be willing up to give up their sovereignty on these issues or, when they do, nothing will come out of that because they won't be able to agree on a common position. Some important recent reports showed, once again, how short-sighted and out of date this line of reasoning is.”
European values are still more attractive to most of the world than Chinese or even American values. Europeans are still better in conflict management (see the recent Serbia-Kosovo deal); and the EU, though not likely to welcome many new members in the near future (although Croatia will become the 28th member in July), is still an attractive socio-political and economic arena for its neighboring nations. More active foreign policy and global undertakings will rejuvenate the European soul and make the Europeans feel more responsible not only globally but for the European continent as well.
Furthermore, European bureaucracy need not thumb their noses at the military’s role. It is an open secret that Europe’s soft power was extremely successful in recent decades, but Europe’s diminishing economic power and growing political isolationism has complicated this. As Jan Techau of Strategic Europe argues, “European publics and elites alike could no longer ignore the importance of military power for successful diplomacy. So far, the world has become used to the EU’s rather limited approach of 'foreign policy by project management.' That makes the EU the biggest donor in many fields. but significantly limits its political clout. Of a unified European foreign policy, much more would be asked.”
A more responsible European military establishment is necessary to tackle the 21st century’s challenges. The U.S. pivot to Asia has already signaled a possible American withdrawal scenario from Europe in the foreseeable future. Europeans should harness the skill and resources of their own to protect themselves and play a decisive role in international arena. A strong military will also be a good basis to push for the EU's permanent membership on the UN Security Council.
Last but not least, the EU must be more actively engaged in relations with its neighbors. The upward trajectory of the European Neighborhood Policy notwithstanding, too much is left to be done in order to record remarkable achievements. ECFR analysts rightly argue that the trouble with the EU’s Neighborhood Policy in the east is that it has largely been a do-it-yourself policy--the EU offered something to its neighbors, and then it did not really commit resources and attention needed to turn that offer into reality. The Europeans should apply "the carrot and stick" approach to succeed with their endeavors. The European Union is an attractive place for the newborn, vibrant civil societies of Eastern Europe and the southern Caucasus regions, and it is of paramount importance to work directly with the people of those countries.
This will also give the EU a relative advantage over Russia in these areas. The younger generations who have grown up under the Neighborhood Policy prefer Europe to Russia, and the European model to the Russian authoritarian establishment. Europe’s political engagement must reach into Asia as well. As Hans Kundnani & Mark Leonard of the ECFR noted, Europe is China's biggest trading partner, India's second-biggest, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s second-biggest, Japan's third-biggest, and Indonesia's fourth-biggest. It has negotiated free trade areas with Singapore and South Korea, and has begun separate talks with ASEAN, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. These economic relationships are already forming the basis for close political relationships in Asia. Europeans should make their own “pivot to Asia”!
As the largest economy in the world, the European Union possess the know-how and the resources to go global. It is time for Europeans to give up the unsuccessful, inward-looking strategy, and to play a more decisive role in the world. Peace and stability at home is not enough. An interdependent world requires a global strategy.
Vahram Ayvazyan is a 2012 graduate of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program at the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies in Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @VahramAyvazyan.
Photo copyright European Union 2012 - European Parliament (cc).
a global affairs media network
A More Global European Union
May 29, 2013
The economies of the southern European Union continue to show poor performance, while the countries of the north try to impose austerity measures. Yet unemployment remains very high across the continent. As a reminder on May 1st--the May Day holiday dedicated to labor forces--The Globalist tweeted: “May 1, Europe's Labor Day: 26 million Europeans currently unemployed, a gruesome reminder.”
The economic statistics notwithstanding, the crisis is more political and intellectual than economic. The once-prevalent European worldview is waning. As former Prime Minister of Ireland John Bruton notes, “After almost 70 years of peace, Europeans seem to have forgotten why unity was so important, indulging nationalist sentiment without regard for its potential consequences. At the same time, they fail to grasp that their economies are too closely interconnected for independent economic policy to work.” Peace and stability is endangered, and replaced by the tumultuous years of anti-europeanism. What should be done then to alleviate the ongoing European suffering?
First and foremost, the European Union needs to revive its global prestige and attractiveness. To do so, the EU needs to implement a more robust foreign policy, and more European engagement in global issues is necessary. As Joost Lagendijk, former member of the European Parliament, notes: “Most of these debates between emboldened EU critics and defensive EU supporters focus on economic policies and the need for a new institutional framework. What has always surprised me is that so little attention is paid to the necessity for the EU to better coordinate its foreign and defense policy. Of course, there are the usual arguments claiming that member states will never be willing up to give up their sovereignty on these issues or, when they do, nothing will come out of that because they won't be able to agree on a common position. Some important recent reports showed, once again, how short-sighted and out of date this line of reasoning is.”
European values are still more attractive to most of the world than Chinese or even American values. Europeans are still better in conflict management (see the recent Serbia-Kosovo deal); and the EU, though not likely to welcome many new members in the near future (although Croatia will become the 28th member in July), is still an attractive socio-political and economic arena for its neighboring nations. More active foreign policy and global undertakings will rejuvenate the European soul and make the Europeans feel more responsible not only globally but for the European continent as well.
Furthermore, European bureaucracy need not thumb their noses at the military’s role. It is an open secret that Europe’s soft power was extremely successful in recent decades, but Europe’s diminishing economic power and growing political isolationism has complicated this. As Jan Techau of Strategic Europe argues, “European publics and elites alike could no longer ignore the importance of military power for successful diplomacy. So far, the world has become used to the EU’s rather limited approach of 'foreign policy by project management.' That makes the EU the biggest donor in many fields. but significantly limits its political clout. Of a unified European foreign policy, much more would be asked.”
A more responsible European military establishment is necessary to tackle the 21st century’s challenges. The U.S. pivot to Asia has already signaled a possible American withdrawal scenario from Europe in the foreseeable future. Europeans should harness the skill and resources of their own to protect themselves and play a decisive role in international arena. A strong military will also be a good basis to push for the EU's permanent membership on the UN Security Council.
Last but not least, the EU must be more actively engaged in relations with its neighbors. The upward trajectory of the European Neighborhood Policy notwithstanding, too much is left to be done in order to record remarkable achievements. ECFR analysts rightly argue that the trouble with the EU’s Neighborhood Policy in the east is that it has largely been a do-it-yourself policy--the EU offered something to its neighbors, and then it did not really commit resources and attention needed to turn that offer into reality. The Europeans should apply "the carrot and stick" approach to succeed with their endeavors. The European Union is an attractive place for the newborn, vibrant civil societies of Eastern Europe and the southern Caucasus regions, and it is of paramount importance to work directly with the people of those countries.
This will also give the EU a relative advantage over Russia in these areas. The younger generations who have grown up under the Neighborhood Policy prefer Europe to Russia, and the European model to the Russian authoritarian establishment. Europe’s political engagement must reach into Asia as well. As Hans Kundnani & Mark Leonard of the ECFR noted, Europe is China's biggest trading partner, India's second-biggest, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s second-biggest, Japan's third-biggest, and Indonesia's fourth-biggest. It has negotiated free trade areas with Singapore and South Korea, and has begun separate talks with ASEAN, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. These economic relationships are already forming the basis for close political relationships in Asia. Europeans should make their own “pivot to Asia”!
As the largest economy in the world, the European Union possess the know-how and the resources to go global. It is time for Europeans to give up the unsuccessful, inward-looking strategy, and to play a more decisive role in the world. Peace and stability at home is not enough. An interdependent world requires a global strategy.
Vahram Ayvazyan is a 2012 graduate of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program at the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies in Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @VahramAyvazyan.
Photo copyright European Union 2012 - European Parliament (cc).
