FRIDE Crisis and EU foreign policy

Spanish foreign policy monitor: January-March 2012

Manuel Manrique — 2013-06-18T23:43:58+01:00

Mariano Rajoy’s foreign policy during his first 100 days in government has been characterised by its low profile and a certain degree of continuity with the previous government’s broad policies and strategic objectives. Its main priorities have been determined by the economic crisis: Europe as the main reference, a significant decrease in available resources and a major boost to ‘Brand Spain’, under which the country’s economic and public diplomacy efforts will be grouped.

How the EU can adopt a new type of democracy support

Milja Kurki — 2013-06-18T23:43:58+01:00

Instead of pretending that consensus on liberal democracy can be enforced in the context of the financial crisis and the Arab spring, the EU should more fully and more consistently push for a real paradigm shift in democracy support; one in which democracy’s meaning is no longer fixed, where democratic debate is embraced rather than feared and where true commitment to the value of democracy rather than its utilitarian effects for other ends is appreciated.

Is Germany still a EU-ropean power?

Susanne Gratius — 2013-06-18T23:43:58+01:00

The Chancellor’s disordered management of the economic crisis shows that Berlin has no political roadmap for the future of Europe. Dissociated from its historic burden, a new self-confident Germany has emerged, pushing for its own economic interests. Particularly in the South, there is a perception that a less European Germany is seeking to bring about a German Europe. At the same time, the Merkel coalition seems to have moved away from the basic principles of Germany’s foreign policy – Europe and the transatlantic community – replacing them by a bilateral commercial diplomacy focused on new global powers.

Challenges for European Foreign Policy in 2012. What kind of geo-economic Europe?

Publicaciones FRIDE — 2013-06-18T23:43:58+01:00

At the end of each year, the FRIDE team reflects on the challenges likely to dominate the EU’s foreign policy agenda in the following twelve months. The unifying thread of these challenges for 2012 is that of geo-economics. The euro crisis and shifts in global power require a more assertive focus on immediate economic interests. Geo-economics is likely to be of increasing relevance to European foreign policy debates in 2012.