From Global Europe to the Neighborhood: time for a new strategy

The European Union is standing at a strategic crossroads. The Lisbon treaty and the establishment of the External Action Service provide the potential for a more coherent, effec-tive and visible foreign and security policy. However, the power shift oc-curring at the global level, the increas-ing complexity of its security context and EU’s current crisis seem to de-mand a strategic review of the EU’s foreign policy priorities. This would involve, more specifically, a prioritization of the European neighborhood. To become a signifi-cant actor on the global stage, the EU thus first needs to rethink and streng-then its role as a regional power. Both the Arab Spring in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and the deadlock transitions of the Eastern partners, represent enormous, pressing chal-lenges that require an enhanced and more strategic engagement from the EU.