Defining the European Union as a global security actor
Defining the European Union as a global security actor

Summary/Abstract: This paper evaluates the European Union’s actorness in international relations and especially in the field of global security. It approaches three core documents for the development of a European security culture: the European Security Strategy, the Constitutional Treaty and the Treaty of Lisbon. The European Security Strategy provided the normative substratum for engaging European Union into the global governance of the 21st century after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty were not as revolutionary as the security strategy. They in fact showed the limits of the institutional compromise and the political sclerosis of which the EU suffers. However, as this paper demonstrates, the norms and institutions are created for better or worse. What still misses is the political will of the Member States and EU officials to advance further the objective set out in the security strategy.

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