The 27-member European Union needs more than a President to make its global presence felt. The election of Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as President of the EU and of the EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton as the EU’s foreign policy chief does mark an important milestone in EU’s evolution as a coherent political group, but how important will depend upon the EU’s willingness to play its part in global affairs. For the past few months, the US, China, Russia, India and even Brazil have been grabbing more headlines in global media than the EU. Asia’s rise and America’s assertiveness had cast a shadow on the EU in the past few years. The global economic crisis and slowdown have, in fact, given the EU an opportunity to raise its profile once again. Germany and France, in particular, have been able to re-assert their global presence through deft political and economic management at home. US President Barack Obama’s as yet lacklustre leadership has also allowed the EU to re-emerge from the shadows. However, the EU needs a coherent economic and foreign policy and institutions that can articulate a shared strategic worldview for the regional grouping to be taken more seriously.
Equally importantly, the EU must come forward with a more dynamic and contemporaneous vision of its role in world affairs. How committed is it to free trade? How serious is it about its multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-cultural status? And how much money and how many troops is it willing to place in harm’s way to secure its security and foreign policy goals? The EU’s dithering in Afghanistan does not show it in good light, though its willingness to stand up to China on the Dalai Lama, compared to Obama’s genuflections, has strengthened its image as a voice for pluralism. But the ultimate test for the EU will be its decision on Turkey. An EU that cannot accommodate an Islamic nation within its plural fold will be diminished in the eyes of the international community. Mr Rompuy is viewed with suspicion in Turkey for his anti-Turkey views. To find acceptance among the EU’s minorities who live within present member countries, Mr Rompuy will have to show that he is not just another small-minded politician from a small European nation, but that he reflects the hopes and aspirations of all Europeans, irrespective of their religion. It can only be hoped that the new President and his foreign policy aide will now settle down to the tough task of articulating a truly “European” view on major international problems of the day. Having done so, the EU must be willing to put its money where its mouth is.