EU foreign relations

Mediator, trading partner, political player

Article published on the 2008-07-14 Latest update 2008-07-16 09:50 TU

EU Foreign Affairs ministers meet in March this year
(Photo: Reuters)

There is no doubt that the European Union is a big player on the world state. But what role does it play? And what role should it play?  

In the row over Iran's nuclear programme the EU has put itself forward as a mediator between the Islamic republic and its most virulent critics, the US and Israel, while giving credence to their claim that Tehran plans to develop nuclear weapons. 

To the US it is a trading partner and sometimes a competitor for contracts and jobs, as the dispute between Boeing and Europe's EADS over a massive US Air Force contract recently showed.

So far as China is concerned, Europe seems torn between criticising Beijing over human rights, competing for zones of influence and getting in on the action of the world's fastest-growing economy.

France has already found itself in the thick of the dispute with Beijing over its behaviour in Tibet and attendance at the Olympic Games. Further controversies can be expected.

In multilateral negotiations, the EU is enthusiatically advocates the destruciton of barriers to free trade, for others if not always for itself Poorer nations and NGOs often claim that the bloc's proposals are to their disadvantage.