1. Introduction
If the European Union wants to be a serious actor on world stage they need more strategic thoughts and above all the real and permanent will of the Member States acting together. The national states are too small for the challenges of our epoch. How to save the climate, guarantee security or offer economic prosperity, if all these topics are interweaved within the international system?
Moreover a new constellation in the international policy becomes obvious. The unipolar moment of the USA is over. With the rise of China and India the multipolar world will be more and more important. Therefore a new balance has to be created by those states.
The European Union has no choice: It has to take up these challenges but it has also the potential to develop the rules of the new world order. The EU makes 35 percent of the world production and the world’s biggest exporter of goods.1 Its population is with more than 500 million inhabitants bigger than the population of Russia and USA together.
The lack of the common foreign policy is so serious because European Union is liable to break down as an actor in the world policy. Its political and economic interests reach clearly over its territory. Moreover the European Union is affected directly from crisis or conflicts concerning raw material supply or energy supply.
Relating to security policy the European Union is currently threatened by really different groups (from Al-Qaida to Somali pirates). Because of those problems the EU has to be incomprehensible as a global actor.
Just because working together in the foreign policy is so important this paper has the goal to find out whether the Member States of the EU are able to cooperate concerning current crisis in Libya. Therefore follows at first a short historical overview about the historian steps to come closer to a common foreign policy in the EU. Then there is a short summary about the intervention of Libya. After that you have to analyze the behavior of the most influential Member States (France, Great Britain and Germany) because if they have common position in the field of foreign policy it is more easier for the EU to reach a common point of view for all Members. Last but not least you have to come to a conclusion whether a European Union common foreign policy exist or not.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Historical overview
2.1 The Treaty of Maastricht
2.2 The Treaty of Amsterdam
2.3 The Treaty of Lisbon
3 The intervention in Libya
4 The behavior of the most important members of the EU in the Libya crisis
4.1 France – Engaged endeavors in Libya
4.2 Great Britain – France’s Best friend
4.3 Germany – The skeptics
5 A dream still remains a dream
6 Bibliography
6.1 Books
6.2 Online sources
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper explores the capability of the European Union to act as a unified global actor, specifically examining whether Member States can cooperate effectively during international crises. By analyzing the Libya intervention as a case study, the research investigates the influence of national interests on the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
- Historical evolution of the EU's foreign policy framework.
- Impact of the Libya crisis on EU internal cohesion.
- Comparative analysis of foreign policy approaches by France, Great Britain, and Germany.
- Divergence between national strategic interests and the aspiration for a common European voice.
- Evaluation of the EU’s potential to function as a unified global political actor.
Excerpts from the Book
4.1 France - Engaged endeavors in Libya
In December 2007 the French President Nicolas Sarkozy had rolled out the longest red carpet for Gaddafi, which Paris had ever seen. Many bridges were blocked so that the “brother leader” could do his boat trip without being disturbed. In Rambouillet, he was allowed to hunt pheasants and he could also set up his dessert tent in the middle of the city. Some years later the wind has changed.
Now, Sarkozy is the bitter opponent of Gaddafi. In the beginning of March 2011 Bernard-Henri Lévy, French philosopher, travelled to Libya of his own and visited in Benghazi the Council of Resistance. After that he called Sarkozy. Sarkozy seized an opportunity to invite the Libyans to Paris, received their delegation at the Elyse Palace and Lévy accompanied them there. Sarkozy did everything to convince the world community to help the rebels in Libya. His government was the first one which recognized the National Transitional Council of the rebels.
Unfortunately, his engaged actions were not so good for the CFSP. He did not coordinate with the other Member states of the European Union although it is principle of the CFSP. At the special summit for the crisis in Libya of the EU on the 11th of March differences between Germany on the one hand and France and Britain on the other hand became obvious. France and Britain would intervene militarily in the Libya conflict, but Germany refused to do that and of course they could find a common position because they enunciated their different attitudes in the global press before they met. It was a long time ago since France and Germany had so big divergences in a certain issue of foreign policy.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter outlines the necessity for a unified EU foreign policy to address modern global challenges and defines the paper's focus on the Libya crisis.
2 Historical overview: This section traces the development of European foreign policy, covering key institutional milestones from the EPC to the Treaty of Lisbon.
3 The intervention in Libya: This chapter provides a chronological summary of the Libyan Civil War and the subsequent international military intervention.
4 The behavior of the most important members of the EU in the Libya crisis: This section provides a comparative analysis of the specific national interests and political motivations of France, Great Britain, and Germany.
5 A dream still remains a dream: The concluding chapter assesses whether the EU succeeded in speaking with one voice during the Libya crisis and discusses the ongoing limitations of the CFSP.
Keywords
European Union, Libya intervention, Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP, France, Great Britain, Germany, Nicolas Sarkozy, David Cameron, Guido Westerwelle, international relations, foreign policy, military intervention, sovereignty, national interests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines whether the European Union is capable of maintaining a common, unified foreign policy when facing major international conflicts, using the 2011 Libya crisis as a primary case study.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The key themes include the institutional history of EU foreign policy, the impact of national domestic politics on international decisions, and the effectiveness of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
What is the primary objective of the work?
The goal is to determine if the EU's most influential member states can align their positions during a crisis, or if they prioritize their individual national interests over the collective European goal.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author uses a qualitative case study approach, analyzing historical political developments and comparing the diverging diplomatic behaviors of France, Great Britain, and Germany during the Libya crisis.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body examines the historical foundation of EU cooperation, the timeline of the Libya intervention, and detailed analyses of how and why France, Great Britain, and Germany acted the way they did.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include European Union, Libya intervention, CFSP, national interests, diplomatic divergence, and global actor.
How did the Treaty of Lisbon impact the High Representative's role?
The treaty merged the positions of the High Representative and the External Relations Commissioner, aiming to provide more coherence in EU foreign policy and giving the officeholder more initiative.
Why did Germany choose to abstain from the UN resolution regarding Libya?
Germany feared the long-term implications of military involvement, suspected that the conflict would require ground troops, and wanted to avoid participating in a "western imperialism" scenario.
- Citar trabajo
- Laura M (Autor), 2011, The European Union and the dream of a common foreign policy based on the present Libya intervention, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/190551
