ABSTRACT
This chapter establishes, firstly, the extent to which the European Union (EU) has become a purposive actor in world politics and, secondly, the implications of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and in particular the introduction of the Euro, for the actor capability of the Union. In Hopkins and Mansbach's early formulation, if the EU is to be considered an actor it must possess 'the ability to behave in ways that have consequences in international politics and cannot be predicted entirely by reference to other actors or authorities'. The ending of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union radically altered the external policy environment of the European Community (EC)/EU - presenting an unprecedented, and unanticipated, range of challenges, demands and opportunities for actorness. The chapter considers the potential for enhanced actorness in the future and focuses on the potential impact of EMU and the single currency.
