ABSTRACT
Having attained a degree of internal integration, consolidated in large part by internal market liberalisation, the introduction of a single currency, and a raft of economic and social policies, the European Union (EU) has over the past decade sought to extend its presence on the international stage. Until now, this aspiration has been hindered by the lack of a common European voice in foreign policy, unlike the cohesiveness of international trade policy where the legitimacy of the European Commission to speak and negotiate for the member states is uncontested both inside and outside the community. In one area of external relations, however, the EU appears to be sidestepping the weaknesses of the foreign policy framework, building co-operative relations and political dialogue with other regional communities in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The EU has gone so far as to declare its support for regional integration in other parts of the world, entering into a growing number of inter-regional co-operation agreements, and creating a variety of instruments intended to support the region-building process elsewhere.
