The EU Polity and Foreign Policy Coherence

Singapore Management University Office of Researc

Closing or Widening the Gap? The Foreign Policy of EU Member States

This working paper maps and analyses the foreign policy of thirteen selected European Union (EU) Member States (MS) with a focus on their present and long-term defence and security strategies. It considers high-level primary sources in order to evaluate possible incompatibilities in foreign policy amongst EU MS and to assess challenges and possibilities for the external action of the Union in the areas of security and defence. The mapping exercise reveals that EU MS tend to hold a common assessment of their security and geopolitical environments, and largely converge around priority challenges and security threats. Firstly, The MS national strategies present a global geopolitical environment undergoing rapid transformations amidst a back drop of complicating factors such as the US-China systemic rivalry, climate change, technological disruption, resource scarcity and disinformation, which are compounded with more traditional security issues such as terrorism, extremism and the prevalence of weapons of mass destruction. Secondly, strategic thinking of EU MS aims at enhanced capacity in “broad security” areas such as hybrid warfare, disinformation, health, migration, natural disasters and climate, and cybersecurity. Finally, the MS’ strategic orientations are largely bound to their geographical position: their assessments of threats and geopolitical trends as well as their hierarchies of priorities are deeply linked to their geographical position, regional neighbourhood and adjacent areas. We conclude that gaps exist in the strategic thinking amongst MS and between MS and EU institutions, but these divergences are not insurmountable obstacles to a deeper cooperation and a more coordinated EU external action. As long as priorities and essential interests are commonly grounded and not diametrically opposed, the challenge for joined-up external action lies at the level of policy- and decision-making and in the quest for capabilities and resources that are able to bolster actions that satisfy individual MS objectives.publishedVersio

"(In-)Coherence in EU Foreign Policy: Exploring Sources and Remedies"

How does the EU deal with incoherence and coherence? In this paper we try to answer this research question in order to draw conclusions on the specific nature of the EU as a foreign policy actor. We define coherence and incoherence in EU foreign policy as our dependent variable in a first step. Coherence is understood as a principle guiding foreign policies in the EU as well as other international actors. Effectiveness is crucially linked to the principle of coherence, not only in the EU. However, the way in which the principle of coherence is implemented differs in ideal type polities in foreign policy. By analysing how the EU has dealt with coherence on both a constitutional level and substantive policy‐level, we can on the one hand explore where the EU locates sources of incoherence and addresses these through institutional change. On the other hand, we analyse how the EU addresses vertical and horizontal coherence in substantive policy‐making. Here we rely on EU sanctions and EU crisis‐management as examples of coherence in policy‐making. We conclude by presenting our findings on a) how the EU addresses the principle of coherence and b) which conclusions about the EU’s nature in foreign policy we can draw

Democratic accountability and parliamentary control in foreign and security policy

SEDE Committee, European Parliamentstatus: publishe

From Dawn to Doom: the institutionalization of the Spitzenkandidaten-process during European elections and its final negation

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Between Aspirations and realities - Interparliamentary cooperation in the EU's Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policies

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Common Security and Defence Policy – Development, Added-Value, and Challenges

edition: 2ndstatus: publishe

De 'veiligheid-ontwikkeling nexus' en de securitisering van het EU-beleid ten aanzien van ontwikkelingslanden

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Coherence, strategy and legitimacy – variations ofa theme in the case of EU–China relations

status: publishe