SPAIN, SWEDEN, Italy and Poland are working on a new strategic vision for EU foreign policy, an initiative Poland sees as an opportunity for Europe to evolve into a global “superpower”.
The countries are sponsoring a project by think tanks to present a plan next year for a new strategic approach for the EU’s future external relations.
“I believe Europe should behave like a proper superpower,” Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters.
“We are the largest economy on Earth. We are the largest donor of international aid. We have the second-largest combined defence budget and therefore we are entitled to commensurate influence.”
Mr Sikorski cited former British prime minister Tony Blair saying he wanted Europe to act like a superpower but not a superstate.
“We have given up our sovereignty – including you in Ireland – in the trade area,” he said.
“We are represented in trade negotiations at the World Trade Organisation by the [European] Commission and as a result of this we have, each and every one of us, got a better deal because we are using our collective bargaining power [and] economies of scale.
“If it works in this very sensitive area of trade then I would say we should also use some of those economies of scale in other areas. In the 21st century we are all small countries and that’s why I think we should pool resources in more areas, including in defence.”
Swedish minister Carl Bildt said member states shared the objective of making Europe a stronger power for the good. “When you use the term superpower, most people associate it only with military means, but it can be associated with anything,” Mr Bildt said.
