ABSTRACT
The EU is a major player in the global economy, due not only to its weight in international trade, foreign direct investment and exchange rate mechanisms, but also to its capacity to influence global standard formation through its single market and its Economic and Monetary Union. In addition, a further more diffuse form of influence stems from the sum of its external policies, as well as from the model provided by its internal socio-economic model. This prominent position poses the question of the extent to which these vectors of influence have been adapted to the new landscape defined by globalisation. First, this chapter starts with a preliminary characterisation of the European economic and social model, and with the challenges arising from a globalised economy. Second, it details the evolution of the Lisbon Strategy (2000-10), the modernisation agenda aimed at preparing Europe for the challenges of globalisation, as well as its implications for the Union’s external action.
