European Foreign Policy and the Realities of Subsidiarity

Abstract

This chapter discusses the broader theoretical and empirical context of European foreign policy. The argument advanced here integrates the policy conduct of key member states as well as that of the Brussels-based institutions. It is guided by the assessment of Gammelin and Löw (2014, 266-7; author’s translation) appropriate for the best part of the post-Cold War period: 'the last word in foreign policy still rests with the nation states' and 'what exactly one should understand by joint foreign policy is only vaguely defined'. The focus of the chapter concerns various EU policies such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and, most recently, the policy of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). It is argued that the integration process has not been able to overcome the self-interested behaviour of EU member states in an international system showing clear signs of increasing multipolarity.