Miscellaneous
Recorded at the "Perspectives on European Foreign Policy in the Context of Current EU-Russia Relations" Workshop - Friday 11 January 2019 - Leiden University, Netherlands * * * Tony van der Togt Tony van der Togt compares his experience with foreign policy making in the early 2000s with what the EU is capable to do now, and his reflections focus on three observations: 1. There is increasing soul-searching happening in many European capitals and beyond to the questions “Are we [Europeans] increasingly an exception”? but also “is the US still a partner”? The liberal rules-based order is indeed under threat and challenged from different sides, and many partners also wonder if the US is still a partner. What is “new” for the EU in all of this, is that for a long time Europeans could take it for granted that the others would automatically follow our example. The “EU was like the city on the hill”. This is now gone. The idea of a value-based foreign policy is increasingly challenged. 2. In principle, the EU is now much better equipped nowadays and institutionally organised. The EU can be more coordinated and more strategic. 3. But in practice, it is more complicated when one looks at the commitment of member states. To take the EU-Russia relations, there was at least a strategy in 2000. It was difficult to get all member states on board and it was a very general statement, but we had at least a common stance. And keeping this “unity in purpose, and unity in action” is now more difficult for the EU, also because the commitment of member states was guaranteed during the rotating presidency in foreign policy, and that we lost. * * * Note: UACES does not take responsibility for opinions expressed in this recording. All opinions are those of the contributors.