Foreign relations of the European Union
Although there has been a large degree of integration between European Union member states, foreign relations is still a largely intergovernmental matter, with the 27 members controlling their own relations to a large degree. However, with the Union holding more weight as a single bloc, there are at times attempts to speak with one voice, notably on trade and energy matters. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy personifies this role.
Policy and actors
The EU's foreign relations are dealt with either through the Common Foreign and Security Policy decided by the European Council, or the economic trade negotiations handled by the European Commission. The leading EU diplomat in both areas is the High Representative Josep Borrell. The Council can issue negotiating directives to the Commission giving parameters for trade negotiations.A limited amount of defence co-operation takes place within the Common Security and Defence Policy. However, it is hoped that defence co-operation and integration between member states will be improved by establishing a Military Planning and Conduct Capabilities " unit focused on military operations.
Diplomatic representation
History
The High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, the EU's predecessor, opened its first mission in London in 1955, three years after non-EU countries began to accredit their missions in Brussels to the Community. The US had been a fervent supporter of the ECSC's efforts from the beginning, and Secretary of State Dean Acheson sent Jean Monnet a dispatch in the name of President Truman confirming full US diplomatic recognition of the ECSC. A US ambassador to the ECSC was accredited soon thereafter, and he headed the second overseas mission to establish diplomatic relations with the Community institutions.The number of delegates began to rise in the 1960s following the merging of the executive institutions of the three European Communities into a single Commission. Until recently some states had reservations accepting that EU delegations held the full status of a diplomatic mission. Article 20 of the Maastricht Treaty requires the Delegations and the Member States’ diplomatic missions to "co-operate in ensuring that the common positions and joint actions adopted by the Council are complied with and implemented".
As part of the process of establishment of the European External Action Service envisioned in the Lisbon Treaty, on 1 January 2010 all former European Commission delegations were renamed European Union delegations and till the end of the month 54 of the missions were transformed into embassy-type missions that employ greater powers than the regular delegations. These upgraded delegations have taken on the role previously carried out by the national embassies of the member state holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union and merged with the independent Council delegations around the world. Through this the EU delegations take on the role of co-ordinating national embassies and speaking for the EU as a whole, not just the Commission.
The first delegation to be upgraded was the one in Washington D.C., the new joint ambassador was Joao Vale de Almeida who outlined his new powers as speaking for both the Commission and Council presidents, and member states. He would be in charge where there was a common position but otherwise, on bilateral matters, he would not take over from national ambassadors. All delegations are expected to be converted by the end of 2010. Some states may choose to operate through the new EU delegations and close down some of their smaller national embassies, however France has indicated that it will maintain its own network around the world for now.
Locations
The EU sends its delegates generally only to the capitals of states outside the European Union and cities hosting multilateral bodies. The EU missions work separately from the work of the missions of its member states, however in some circumstances it may share resources and facilities. In Abuja is shares its premises with a number of member states. Additionally to the third-state delegations and offices the European Commission maintains representation in each of the member states.Prior to the establishment of the European External Action Service by the Treaty of Lisbon there were separate delegations of the Council of the European Union to the United Nations in New York, to the African Union and to Afghanistan - in addition to the European Commission delegations there. In the course of 2010 these would be transformed into integrated European Union delegations.
Member state missions
The EU member states have their own diplomatic missions, in addition to the common EU delegations. On the other hand, additionally to the third-state delegations and offices the European Commission maintains representation in each of the member states. Where the EU delegations have not taken on their full Lisbon Treaty responsibilities, the national embassy of the country holding the rotating EU presidency has the role of representing the CFSP while the EU delegation speaks only for the Commission.Member state missions have certain responsibilities to national of fellow states. Consulates are obliged to support EU citizens of other states abroad if they do not have a consulate of their own state in the country. Also, if another EU state makes a request to help their citizens in an emergency then they are obliged to assist. An example would be evacuations where EU states help assist each other's citizens.
No EU member state has embassy in the countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Dominica, Gambia, Grenada, Guyana, Kiribati, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Somalia, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tonga, Tuvalu, the sovereign entity Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the partially recognised countries Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Republic of China . The European Commission also has no delegations or offices to most of them.
The following countries host only a single Embassy of EU member state: Central African Republic, Comoros, Lesotho, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu. The European Commission also has no delegations or offices to most of them.
Relations
Africa and the Middle East
The Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
The European Union regularly holds High-level Political and Security Dialogues with the countries of Central Asia which include Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan often invited as a guest. The HLDs with these states have a focus on security, and provide a formal platform to exchange views and ideas, advance collaboration and support EU involvement in the Central Asian region.An update to the 10 year old EU-Central Asia strategy is expected to be developed by the end of 2019. The new EU Central Asia Strategy was introduced at the EU-Central Asia Ministerial meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, on July 7, 2019. Federica Mogherini also presented a set of EU funded regional programmes totaling €72 million. The new programmes cover the following sectors: sustainable energy, economic empowerment, education, and inclusive sustainable growth.
EU Programmes in Central Asia
Border Management Programme in Central Asia
The EU launched in 2002 the BOMCA to mitigate the impacts of human trafficking, trafficking of drugs, organised crime and terrorism on EU interests and regional partners.Central Asia Drug Action Programme
The CADAP works to bolster drug policies of Central Asian states by providing assistance policy makers, industry experts, law enforcement, educators and medical staff, victims of drug abuse, the media and the general public.http://cadap-eu.org/
| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Albania is an EU candidate since June 2014, and has applied for membership since 2009. Majority of Albanian policy especially foreign is in line with EU, relations have been very strong and warm. | ||
| Andorra co-operates with the EU, and uses the euro but is not seeking membership. | ||
| 1991 | The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement serves as the legal framework for EU-Armenia bilateral relations. Since 2004, Armenia and the other South Caucasus states have been part of the European Neighbourhood Policy, encouraging closer ties between Armenia and the EU. Armenia and the EU were set to sign an Association Agreement in early September 2013, however the agreement was called off by Armenia, prior to Armenia joining the Eurasian Union in 2014. Though, a revised Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement was later finalized between Armenia and the EU in February 2017. Armenia further participates in the Eastern Partnership Program and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly which aims at forging closer political and economic ties with the EU. In April 2018, Armenia began implementing actions for launching dialogue over visa liberalization for Armenian citizens travelling into the Schengen area. | |
| 1991 | ||
| 1991 | Belarus has strained relations with the EU as it is the only dictatorship left on the EU's borders. | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina is a potential EU candidate that has completed an association agreement. It is one of the few countries in the western Balkans which has not yet made a formal application, however it is experiencing problems integrating its component states. It is still under partial control of the international community via the EU-appointed High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. | ||
| 1991 | ||
| Iceland is part of the EU market via the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area. Although previously opposed to the idea of membership, it made an application in 2009 due to its economic collapse. From 2010 to 2013 Iceland was working on its accession, when it froze the process. | ||
| 1991 | The European Union has the Enhanced Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Kazakhstan, its first with a Central Asian country. The EU is also the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, representing over 50% of Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan. | |
| Liechtenstein is part of the EU market via the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area. | ||
| 1991 | ||
| Monaco co-operates with the EU in aspects such as the Schengen Area and uses the euro. | ||
| 2006 | Montenegro applied to join the EU shortly after achieving independence. | |
| Norway is part of the EU market via the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area. | ||
| San Marino co-operates with the EU in aspects such as the Schengen Area and uses the euro. | ||
| Serbia is an official candidate for the EU, and has applied for EU membership on 22 December 2009. Accession negotiations started on 21 January 2014. | ||
| Ambassador level relations. | ||
| Switzerland does not participate in the EEA, but does co-operate through bilateral treaties similar to the EEA and is part of the Schengen Area. | ||
| Turkey has had a slow application process dating back to the 1980s. Although there is considerable co-operation, there is widespread opposition to Turkish membership. | ||
| 1991 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 1992 | ||
| The Vatican, as a unique state, does not participate in most EU projects but does use the euro. |
Partly recognised states
ACP countries
The European Union's member-states retain close links with many of their former colonies and since the Treaty of Rome there has been a relationship between the Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in the form of ACP-EU Development Cooperation including a joint parliamentary assembly.The EU is also a leading provider of humanitarian aid, with over 20% of aid received in the ACP coming from the EU budget or from the European Development Fund.
In April 2007 the Commission offered ACP countries greater access to the EU market; tariff-free rice exports with duty- and quota-free sugar exports. However this offer is being fought by France who, along with other countries, wish to dilute the offer.
There are questions as to whether the special relationship between the ACP group and the European Union will be maintained after the coming to the end of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement Treaty in 2020. The ACP has begun looking into the future of the group and its relationship to the European Union. Independent think tanks such as the European Centre for Development Policy Management have also presented various scenarios for the future of the ACP group in itself and in relation to the European Union.
The European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy aims at bringing Europe and its neighbours closer.
International organizations
The Union as a whole is increasingly representing its members in international organisations. Aside from EU-centric organisations the EU, or the Community, is represented in a number of organisations:- full rights member: the G8;, the World Trade Organization;
- partner: the International Development Association; Pacific Islands Forum; the Pacific Community
- dialogue member: the ASEAN Regional Forum, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- observer: the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Council of the Baltic Sea States; the Australia Group; the European Organization for Nuclear Research; the Food and Agriculture Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the G10, the Non-Aligned Movement; Nuclear Suppliers Group; the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; and the Zangger Committee
The European Union is expected to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2005, the leaders of the Council of Europe reiterated their desire for the EU to accede without delay to ensure consistent human rights protection across Europe. There are also concerns about consistency in case law - the European Court of Justice is already treating the Convention as though it was part of the EU's legal system to prevent conflict between its judgements and those of the European Court of Human Rights. Protocol No.14 of the Convention is designed to allow the EU to accede to it and the Treaty of Lisbon contains a protocol binding the EU to joining. The EU would not be subordinate to the Council, but would be subject to its human rights law and external monitoring as its member states are currently. It is further proposed that the EU join as a member of the Council once it has attained its legal personality in the Treaty of Lisbon.
Where the EU itself isn't represented, or when it is only an observer, the EU treaties places certain duties on member states;