ABSTRACT
The evolution of the EU in the political and security domains, combined with general long-term perspectives toward a multipolar system, have led to its placement in the category of potential poles of that system. Together with the US, China, India and Russia, it is no longer France or the UK that is presented as a future power, but instead the European Union of 27 states (most likely more than 30 in 15 or 20 years). Such a typology is welcome for European-integration advocates insofar as it shows that the EU is perceived and accepted as a potential, if not an existing power, which is comparable to other powers such as the US or China. On the other hand, this label raises questions as to the kind of power the EU is said to become. Fundamentally, the EU is a civilian, normative actor that has recently embraced a more robust conception of power that includes a military dimension. Theoretically, as the Maastricht Treaty put it, the EU is supposed to define for itself a “common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defence.” Some Member States may indeed want to see the EU becoming a power in the sense that the US or China is, and realists would even argue this is what is expected from any actor aspiring to play a political role on a global scale.2 In reality, though, the EU has not yet become a power in the sense that states can be. It has remained a soft power; one that is comfortable with neither the notion of strategic culture nor the use of force it might entail. Furthermore, the majority of states or policy-makers in the EU would most likely be of the view that if the EU does increasingly resemble a state and should further develop its foreign and security policy, it is nevertheless not supposed to become a power comparable to the US or China. Indeed, the idea that the EU is sui generis (the only example of its kind) implies that it plays in a different league, intentionally. Such differences are limitations to any comparative analysis between the EU and traditional powers, especially if such analysis is made on the basis of traditional criteria of power (military capability, use of force, strong and coherent decision-making processes, etc.). The same limitations apply to the qualification of the EU as a “center of global power.” In this context, this chapter addresses the issue of how the EU understands and manages what it identifies as threats to its security in a globalized world.
