Putting the promotion of human rights at the centre of the EU's foreign policy is something I have focused on since I took up office. But to champion the kind of people that deserve our support requires that the EU overcome two key challenges, each one of which can undermine the struggle to build a better world.
The British debate on Germany and the euro should focus on understanding Merkel's technocratic ideas without invoking Hitler and the Second World War. The best way to get Germany to abandon its counterproductive economic reforms is to talk about a compelling European future, rather than dwelling on the past.
It is becoming clear that the roots of the euro crisis are political rather than economic. The 2008 financial meltdown may well give birth to one of the great moments of political realignment where mainstream parties are being pushed to the sidelines and parties that used to skulk on the fringes are dominating the agenda.
As part of the ‘Reinvention of Europe’ project, ECFR is publishing a series of papers on the national debates within EU member states about the crisis and the future direction of Europe. The fourth paper in the series examines the situation in Bulgaria.
How does the EU summit look from Berlin, Madrid, Rome and Warsaw, and what are the expectations? Four of ECFR's experts tell us how they see the gathering of EU leaders and whether anybody should be optimistic about the outcome.
This week the EU revealed its new human rights strategy, an ambitious plan to 'place human rights at the centre of its relations with all third countries'. The key challenge will be to develop realistic objectives and a clear vision how to achieve them without repeating mistakes of the past.
As part of ECFR's 'Reinvention of Europe' project, the authors examine the euro crisis from the perspective of Spain, and argue that new powers must be transfered to the EU alongside an improvement in democratic governance and the acceptance of a new European social contract.
Europeans are strongly in favor of global governance when it is a process they inflict on others, but they are not so keen when others comment on Europe’s affairs. So, is Europe losing its religion on multilateralism?
Growth will not be created with marginal policy measures – we need a fundamental change of the current policy mix. An end to extreme austerity, more public investment and a reform of the financial system must be at the core of a EU growth strategy.
Despite President Obama extending its use of drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, the EU has been largely silent on the issue. But European leaders need to press the US to establish credible international standards to govern their use.