The EU in the Mediterranean: Between Its International Identity and Member States’ Interests

Abstract

One of the reasons for the low effectiveness of the European Union's policy in the Mediterranean is the discrepancy between the EU's international identity and the national interests of its Member States. The EU has been building its international identity on values that are proper to political idealism. In large measure, however, the EU's declared aims have not been consistent with the national interests of its Member States. In effect, while Member States are able to adopt general guidelines for the EU foreign policy, translating such guidelines into specific actions often proves impossible. The aim of this article is to analyse the low effectiveness of the EU's policy in the Mediterranean region in terms of the discrepancies between the idealistic concept deriving from the EU's international identity on the one hand, and its realistic actions based on the EU's Member States' national interests, on the other. As the European Union's foreign policy is shaped at the intergovernmental level, national interests tend to take the upper hand. The Mediterranean policy of five EU-Member States will be analysed - France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.