| Dr. JAVIER SOLANA | Secretary General of the Council of the EU and High Representative for the CFSP |
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The Future Of The European Union As An Internationel Actor |
Both our citizens and our international partners want and expect a stronger European
presence on the international stage. If we seize the opportunities that present themselves, we can heed this call and deliver an EU foreign policy which is pro-active, coherent and hence effective. And if we did, both the citizens of Europe and the rest of the world be better off as a result. To assess whether we can meet this future challenge, it is worth reflecting on our historical record. In the last twenty years the Union has done a fantastic job of spreading peace, prosperity and democracy throughout our continent. What started out as a small club of six countries has developed into a continent-wide Union of 25, with powers and responsibilities in many new areas, including foreign and defence policy. A continent that for decades was divided by ideology and plagued by conflict is now united at peace and free. Europeans can take sober satisfaction at this overwhelming success - a clear vindication of Europe's distinct approach to international affairs.
The principal challenge for the coming twenty years will be to extend this zone of peace, by promoting security beyond our borders and constructing an international order based on rules. This is a huge challenge and will require hard to make it a reality. But a vast amount of good work is already underway. Through trial and error - and buttressed by a convergence of our interests - we have steadily improved our performance. Whether the issue is Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan or Iran, the conclusion is always the same: we are putting out a united message and, as a result, making a meaningful contribution to global security In the Balkans in the early 1990s we were divided and hence incapable of stopping the bloodshed.
But today everyone is agreed on the strategy and we have made massive progress in stabilising and rebuilding these war-torn societies. We have made a long-term commitment to the region. With both technical and financial assistance we are supporting the painful but necessary political and economic reform processes. And by offering a clear European perspective, we have created powerful incentives to persist on that path of reform.
There will be tough challenges ahead. But the ultimate destination is clear: eventual accession of all countries in the region to the EU. We are also steadily building a zone of co-operative security, based on open markets and open societies, with our Mediterranean partners through the Barcelona process. That process has achieved much in the past ten years, not least because our efforts are backed by annual funds of around Euro 1 bn a year in grants and Euro 2 bn in soft loans.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona process which offers an excellent opportunity to reflect on how we can make our co-operation even more focused and action-oriented. In Europe we have learned the hard way that sustainable peace and security require regional cooperation and integration. Managing crises is not the same as building security.
That is why supporting regional co-operation is such a 'growth area' in our efforts. The African Union, Mercosur, Asean: these are all examples of strengthening regional regimes, explicitly taking their inspiration from the EU. We are deepening our relations with these other regional players and, where possible and relevant, we are giving our support for their further development. In the years ahead, these inter-regional dialogues will steadily reshape the nature of international politics and forge new mechanisms to manage global interdependence and tackle cross-border problems.
The days that European foreign policy could be dismissed as being all talk and no action have long gone. More than 7,000 European troops are operating under an EU flag, keeping the peace in Bosnia-Herzegovia. Other operations are taking place in the South Caucasus, Africa and elsewhere. We are also making good progress in an area – military capabilities – where our traditional underperformance hindered our ability to be as effective as we should have been.
Within the framework of the EU Rapid Reaction Force, the first of the planned 13 battle groups have been created. We also set up the European Defence Agency – to get better value for money in defence procurement and increase the amount of usable military capabilities European governments have at their disposal. And we have brought civilian-military cooperation to a new operational level through the creation of a civilian-military cell. All these measures should enable the Union to increase its crisis management capabilities so that it can successfully address the complex, multi-faceted security crises of the 21st century.
Thus, step by step, a more capable and coherent European foreign policy is taking shape. But it remains a work in progress and the Union is not yet realising its full potential. In some cases, the old chestnut of insufficient political is taking its toll. In others, it is the way we organise ourselves, or take decisions and implement them. We all know that Europe's influence would be greater if we could ensure more coherence, more consistency, more continuity and better delivery. For that reason alone, ratification in all member-states of the new European Constitution would be highly welcome.
The Constitution presents a critical new step in the development of the EU: what the Maastricht Treaty did for the euro, the Constitution could do for Europe’s role in the world. Perhaps the most important innovation, in the area of foreign policy, is the creation of the post of EU Foreign Minister. As you know, this will combine, in one person, the different components of the EU external relations, both political and economic in nature, to allow us to operate more coherently. This is a huge challenge, which will fall to me, as future Foreign Minister, to take up. To ensure more consistency, the future EU Foreign Minister will also represent the Union abroad and chair the regular meetings of EU Foreign Ministers.
Our partners will thus have one main interlocutor – something which is long overdue. Finally, the Constitution foresees the creation of an EU External Action Service. This will bring together staff from different institutions which today shape and implement the EU’s foreign policies. For the first time Europe will have a single team working under one roof and answerable to one person responsible for the full range of EU external relations. Our world is changing fast. It contains new dangers but also many opportunities. The EU has a major contribution to make, in at least two respects.
Both through what it is: a highly successful example of building peace through integration; and through what it does – by promoting global security through co-operation. There is much to be proud of, but even more work to be done.