European Foreign Policy

Volledige vakbeschrijving

In order for the EU to ever be truly a federation there should be a single currency and a common foreign policy. One of these two criteria has been met in most of the Member States of the EU. Does this mean that a major step has been taken on the way to a federation? What of the common foreign policy requirement? Is there one foreign policy or many, at least when crises like the Iraq war occur? What is the probability of a European Foreign Policy akin to that of the USA ever forming? These are the questions the course will tackle. The course is divided into two sections. The first section will start with a focus on the importance of European Foreign Policy for foreign policy analysis and vice versa. It will also consider what theories in International Relations can be applied to fully understand European Foreign Policy. This section will then move on to consider the institutional framework of the EU’s foreign policy, the role of the Member States in the formation of policy and then finally consider in more detail the main policies themselves within the realm of external relations. The main policy areas include Common Defense and Homeland Security Policy, Economic and Trade Policy and Enlargement Policy. The second section deals with the important regions and particular states that the European Union has established strong foreign policy relationships. These important regions and states include the U.S.A., Russia, the Developing world and Emerging Economies. The second section ends with a consideration of the EU’s future role as a global player.