on Michèle Alliot-Marie's "A blueprint for buttressing Africa’s precarious security"

Sir,

After years of reading dismal opinions about the “dwarf” stature of European politics, including Europe’s foreign policy, the optimism exuded by Michèle Alliot-Marie is a welcome breath of fresh air. The European Union is a major actor in world politics with an essential role in maintaining global stability. It may display certain weaknesses when exercising classic military strength but shows great firmness when wielding “soft power” to persuade, to keep the peace and – above all – to prevent conflicts. We are also good at applying the typically European concept of subsidiarity to foreign policy. As Alliot-Marie rightly points out, Africans themselves must overcome their own difficulties.

I also support Alliot-Marie’s view that the EU’s foreign policy in Africa bears no hint of neo-colonialism. The EU is and always has been a legitimate political actor in its own right, representing far more than the sum of its parts. Its policies go much further than the political histories of the individual member states, even though they necessarily draw upon the history, culture and political tradition of each one. Fortunately, a majority of governments that signed agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) are well aware of this.

It is also vital to understand that the EU’s operations overseas are not a consequence of its growing importance in the world. Rather, as Alliot-Marie notes, the drive behind this foreign intervention comes from the very heart of the Union. The EU was at its creation, and remains today, inspired by a wish to base the political relations of European states upon a set of shared values, instead of classical political hierarchies. Given the Union holds these shared values to be universal, the EU logically must seek to uphold them internationally.

However, we can still question whether the EU’s foreign actions are sufficient to achieve its goals and whether they are perceived to be sufficient among citizens both at home and in the world at large. I believe that this is not yet the case. In this respect, Alliot-Marie’s article did sound rather “triumphant” and lacking in self-criticism. Nevertheless, her positive approach does underline the manifold virtues of the Union’s foreign policy which are often under-acknowledged.

Ultimately, an objective analysis of the EU’s military support for the United Nations during the 2006 elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo might conclude that 22 EU counties could have provided more than just 2,500 service personnel. However, the fact that so many EU states agreed to send their servicemen and women on a joint mission thousands of miles away is a significant accomplishment in itself.