Global Power Europe: Why both Europeans and Americans need a strong Europe

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Why both Europeans and Americans need a strong Europe

Make no mistake, the European Union has the potential to be a top global power. But while Europeans have such formidable assets at their disposal there is a strong reluctance to unify in the areas of foreign, security and defence policy, which is further augmented by displays of a certain timidity in some European states, which, consequentially, causes divergences with the duties and obligations that come with being a global power. If foreign countries, and especially autocratic regimes, do not respect, let alone fear, the Europeans, their international clout will not match their material assets and their adversities will be emboldened, damaging European interests all over the world. Europeans must gain the will to turn up in diplomatic forums and say, when necessary: “We are the European Union, and we are willing to make things very difficult for you if you refuse to comply with our wishes.” What is required, then, is ‘global power’ thinking: an understanding across the whole Union that the European Union is becoming—and must be—a global power.