Scared of Ukraine losing and scared of Russia being beaten, of migrants, Gaza and Trump, the EU is making poor choices at home and abroad, says Guardian Europe columnist Nathalie Tocci
Scared of Ukraine losing and scared of Russia being beaten, of migrants, Gaza and Trump, the EU is making poor choices at home and abroadurope no longer wields the power it once did in world affairs, when there was a liberal international order that hinged on US power and in which international cooperation flourished.
Europe is trying to adapt to this new world, but wielding power now requires radical change in the way it views itself and operates. This has led to much soul-searching. As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, admitted in his latest speech at Sorbonne University, unless it adapts, the European Union may not survive., if not outright fear. And it is this fear that is shaping the poor choices that European countries and the EU are currently making.
Fear goes a long way in explaining Europe’s approach to north Africa and the Middle East. Whereas in Ukraine, fear has translated as excessive caution and restraint, when it comes to countries in the southern Mediterranean and Africa, fear equals abdicating on foreign policy altogether. Europe is not just scared of these countries, it is literally terrified.
But at least in the past, even though it was insufficient and incoherent, there was an ambition to exert influence and to help the continent through foreign and development policies. Now policy boils down to a crude transactionalism, where European countries and EU institutions engage with African counterparts as if they were CEOs signing business deals. The “money for migrants” approach is not foreign policy. It’s the abdication of foreign policy.
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