THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Towards a new legislative term

EUROPEAN IDENTITY AND THE NEW GEOPOLITICS 15 equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Its aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples. In its relations with the wider world, it goes on, the Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to peace, security, the sustainable de- velopment of the planet, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of pov- erty and the protection of human rights, as well as to the strict observance and the development of international law, particularly the principles of the United Nations Charter. Something theTreaty specifies and elaborates on in great detail when addressing the provisions on foreign policy: “The Union shall seek to develop relations and build partnerships with third countries, and international, re- gional or global organisations which share the principles referred to in the first subparagraph. It shall promote multilateral solutions to common problems, in particular in the framework of the United Nations. The Union shall define and pursue common policies and actions, and shall work for a high degree of coop- eration in all fields of international relations, in order to: a) safeguard its values, fundamental interests, security, independence and integrity; b) consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law; c) preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen in- ternational security, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, with the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and with the aims of the Charter of Paris, including those relating to external borders; d) foster the sustainable economic, social and environ- mental development of developing countries, with the primary aim of eradicating poverty; e) encourage the integration of all countries into the world economy, including through the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade; f) help develop international measures to preserve and improve the quality of the environment and the sus- tainable management of global natural resources, in order to ensure sustainable development; g) assist populations, countries and regions confronting natural or man-made disasters; and h) promote an international system based on stronger multilateral cooperation and good global governance.” In addition, the Treaty is also very clear on defining the common security and defence policy and detailing the missions that can be performed outside the Union: “The common security and defence policy shall be an integral part of the common foreign and security policy. It shall provide the Union with an operational capacity drawing on civilian and military assets. The Un- ion may use them on missions outside the Union for peace-keeping, conflict prevention and strengthening international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. The performance of these tasks shall be undertaken using capabilities provided by the Member States.” “The tasks referred to in Article 28 A(1), in the course of which the Union may use civilian and mili- tary means, shall include joint disarmament operations, humanitarian and rescue tasks, military advice and as- sistance tasks, conflict prevention and peace-keeping tasks, tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace-making and post-conflict stabilisation. All these tasks may contribute to the fight against ter- rorism, including by supporting third countries in com- bating terrorism in their territories.” In light of this constitutional mandate, the EU’s roadmap in the new geopolitics could not be clearer. In its global action, the EU has allies with whom it shares values, objectives and interests, starting with the United States, NATO and its non-EU member countries. But we do so with our own European identity, which must not be diluted by or confused with the identity of our allies. Allies, moreover, that are not exclusive. This sends an important message to the Global South, with whose countries we must establish and develop rela- tions of partnership and cooperation based on shared principles and goals. In addition, the fact that the European Constitution and the Treaty of Lisbon are quite recent mean their con- tent is not only progressive but also notably modern, addressing issues that the more longstanding consti- tutions of the member states could not even imagine providing for. But what operational concept can we work with in this new era of international relations?