EU External Relations in the Era of the Euro Crisis

Abstract

This article explains the EU External Relations in the Era of the Euro Crisis. It covers the period from the Lehman Shock in September 2008 to January 2014, in particular after October 2009 when the Greek problem was made known.
During this period, EU had parallel and intertwined operations, namely, coping with the euro crisis and the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty which entered into force in December 2009. The top priority of the EU has been to secure the common currency, the euro.
The major achievement of the text of the Lisbon Treaty was the reform of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) including the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which is double-hatted with the Vice-President of the European Commission, and the establishment of the European External Action Service.
The euro crisis diminished the EU’s credibility, while the objective of the Lisbon Treaty was to increase influence and visibility of the EU in the world by setting up the new institutions. The economic difficulties in the many EU member countries decreased their foreign policy-related resources as well as the defence budget. Even before the economic difficulties, “pooling and sharing” was the catch-word in the area of defence capability for rationalising and strengthening the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. The increased competitiveness of defence industries in the EU member countries has been one inter-connected tool to alleviate the economic difficulties and to enhance the capabilities of the CSDP.
In December 2013, “Defence” was the major agenda of the European Council, which paved the way to enhancing cooperation among the EU member countries.
＊The author of this article was Ambassador, Deputy Chief of the Mission of Japan to the EU from 2008 to 2011. The view which was expressed in this article is her own.