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Reshaping Europe
Global Europe – Global Expectations

Assessing the EU's role in the world
2.7 Minutes
Reshaping Europe

What Is This Publication About?

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine poses an unprecedented threat to Europe and the international rules-based order. The liberal model of democracy – based on a set of values of open societies, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and a market economy – is being openly challenged by actors who wish to destroy our way of life.

In order to prevail against authoritarian regimes, the EU's liberal model of democratic societies must regain its appeal in the world. To this end, the EU needs to convincingly demonstrate that free and democratic societies are best equipped to master major challenges

This publication is an attempt to find answers to the following questions:

  • What are the expectations placed on the EU by other continents?
  • How can the EU deliver on them?
  • What are the opportunities and the challenges for a fruitful cooperation between the EU and each world region, and how can these collaborations be strengthened?

Therefore, this series of policy papers examines the expectations each world region has of the EU and makes proposals about how cooperation between the EU and other parts of the world can be strengthened. The findings of this paper serve as a starting point for the discussion about how the EU can regain its appeal as a model of liberal democratic societies outside its own borders.

In conclusion, the policy papers in this volume provide insights into the EU’s relations with other regions of the world and contribute to the formulation of their expectations of an EU that aspires to be a global and autonomous actor in world affairs. The papers address the question of how the EU and the respective regions can deepen their cooperation in order to meet the global challenges of our time together.

Global Europe – Global Expectations

Global Europe – Global Expectations

Today, we are experiencing that the European Union and its model of democratic societies are losing their worldwide popularity. The growing global influence of actors with values, political systems, and worldviews that are diametrically opposing to those of the EU, as well as the renaissance of geopolitical blocs (as evidenced by the abstention of some states in the UN in condemning Russia's war of aggression), further reinforce this trend. In the new era of geopolitics, characterized by strategic rivalry between authoritarian states on the one hand and liberal democracies on the other, these are alarming signs. In order to prevail against authoritarian regimes, the liberal model of EU democratic societies must regain its attractiveness in the world.



Wir erleben heute, dass die Europäische Union und ihr Modell der demokratischen Gesellschaften weltweit an Attraktivität verlieren. Der wachsende globale Einfluss von Akteuren mit Werten, politischen Systemen und Weltanschauungen, die denen der EU diametral entgegengesetzt sind, sowie die Renaissance geopolitischer Blockbildungen (wie die Stimmenthaltung einiger Staaten in der UNO bei der Verurteilung des russischen Angriffskrieges zeigt) verstärken diese Entwicklung noch. In der neuen Ära der Geopolitik, die durch die strategische Rivalität zwischen autoritären Staaten auf der einen und liberalen Demokratien auf der anderen Seite gekennzeichnet ist, sind dies alarmierende Zeichen. Um sich gegen autoritäre Regime durchzusetzen, muss das liberale Modell der demokratischen Gesellschaften der EU in der Welt wieder an Attraktivität gewinnen.

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