Giorgia Miccoli (QMUL) reviews Professor Anne Marie Le Gloannec’s last book, published posthumously, which analyses the current crisis of the European Union, taking into account the previous struggles experienced by Brussels. In an era characterized by Euroscepticism and nationalism, the author identifies the faults of the Union in developing a comprehensive and coherent foreign policy. The EU has failed in acting as a geopolitical actor, disappointing the hopes and the projects of a more proactive Union.
The construction of a European foreign policy, in the most traditional sense, is a recent development. Before the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union (EU) did not possess the sovereign state’s means to act outside its borders and even today, with a functioning Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), it struggles in placing itself out there. The decades before the Maastricht Treaty have been defined by a sui generis foreign policy, mainly built upon a wide array of diplomatic and foreign policy instruments such as Trade agreements, Association Agreements and Enlargement. Indeed, to ‘preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security’ is one of the EU’s formal foreign policy objectives (Art. 21 TEU) and is accompanied by the mission to consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law.
Continent by default starts from the assumption that ‘the EC was not conceived as a foreign policy actor’ (p. 1). The book analyses the EU’s role as a geopolitical actor and the shortcomings met along the path towards a consolidated continental strategic role. The book, through an attentive analysis of the main challenges and defeats encountered by the Union, offers ‘keys to understanding the limits and faults’ (p. 199) of Brussels’ mission to entrench stability and democracy. Throughout the manuscript, Le Gloannec underlines the scarce Union’s foresight, coupled with the constant clash between national and European interests, something that prevented the EU from playing a relevant role in certain international crisis theatres, such as in the case of the Balkan wars and in the relation with Russia prior to the war in Ukraine. Thanks to her long career as a political scientist, as professor and researcher, the author delivers a precise and rich piece of work that features a valuable contribution from her past research on Germany and its role in international relations.
Starting with a focus on enlargement, Le Gloannec criticizes the lack of a proactive policy in the field, at least until the end of the century. Notwithstanding the role of the Union in allowing countries like Spain and Portugal to overcome ‘spent models’ (p.16), Brussels has never acted as a driver of enlargement. Indeed, attracted by trade and the fear of exclusion, candidates were the ones to approach the EU. Despite the importance of the conditionality as a diplomatic instrument, firstly with the Birkelbach Report and then with the Copenhagen Treaty, the author argues that the actions of the Union in other countries resented intrusion. Moreover, comparing the EU to an empire, Le Gloannec underlines the limits of enlargement. A ‘pseudo-Europeanisation’ (p. 46) was the only result obtained in countries like Romania or Hungary, where a democratically elected government has recently been able to reduce rights and freedoms. The author, furthermore, recalls the most famous conflicts the EU has experienced around its borders. The Union, it is said, does not have the ability to mediate conflicts as it happened in the conflict between Russia and Georgia and in the Arab-Israeli conflict, where the limited role of the EU was striking. Despite the fact that in the ‘borderlands’ (p. 107) the EU has been able to exert a strong structural power, the project of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is defined by the author merely as a means to ‘prevent instabilities from spilling over into EU’ (p. 118). The Action Plans finalised with Jordan and Georgia were not more successful and reasoned according to Le Gloannec. Indeed, the only reason why reforms have been produced in these countries is ‘the will of the government and its citizens’ (p. 124). This scarce potential of the Union to act as a geopolitical actor, also helped to turning the refugee crisis into an EU crisis. Analysing the lack of a European migration policy, Le Gloannec highlights the loss of moral ground by the Union, that externalising its border control to surrounding countries, finalised devilish pacts, namely with Gaddafi’s Lybia and Erdogan’s Turkey. To provide a comprehensive framework, the author concludes tackling the relations between Russia and the EU, whose actions demonstrated a “lack of originality” (p. 168).
Le Gloannec has produced a wide and exhaustive piece of work, endowed with an accurate historical basis and loaded of interesting food for thought for all those who are passionate about EU’s foreign policy and its external action. This notwithstanding, the book tries to define the Union’s geopolitical role only by focusing on the European continent, omitting important elements of Brussels’ interaction with third countries. Indeed, trade agreements, developments agreements have had a crucial meaning also in the relations with Sub-Saharan countries. Trying to address the role of the EU in geopolitics, the author leaves behind important details, such as its role in shaping the behaviour of certain countries, especially in its neighbourhood. To define whether or not the definition of geopolitical actor can be ascribed to Brussels, it is necessary to investigate also its role beyond the borders of the European continent. Not little, indeed, has been the significance of the 2003 decision to include a non-proliferation clause in a number of agreements with third countries, making the refusal of WMD an essential element of the negotiations.
Continent by Default delivers a clear image and analysis on the current European architecture. In recalling the most challenging events the Union has experienced in the last decades, the author aims at giving the reader the means necessary to comprehend the everyday life of the EU, including Brexit and the always-growing Euroscepticism. In this, Le Gloannec has a precise opinion and her piece of work surveys the main geopolitical dilemmas the Union is living, placing itself in the vast and relevant recent literature on the EU.
Title: Continent by Default: The European Union and the Demise of Regional OrderAuthor: Anne Marie Le GloannecISBN: 9781501716669
Giorgia Miccoli is a intern at the Centre for European Research.