Introduction: Europe in the World – Perspectives on EU's Global Role

Views on the EU's global role differ drastically. Some maintain that its borders are also the limits of its actions; others assert that power and prestige entail responsibilities and duties. Some perceive its growing might as a salvage to the world; others think it in itself forms a great threat to the world's least privileged. These contradictions are often crystallised in the antithetic goals of development policy and other policy sectors – such as trade. To ease these discrepancies, the importance of consistency and coherence between policy sectors has been increasingly emphasised lately. The left hand should know what the right is doing.

This publication project approaches the development and possibilities of the EU's global role from the viewpoint of the global south. On the eve of the Finnish EU presidency, we want to ask what kind of a role should one expect and demand. What are the results of the policies practiced thus far? Are they likely to get better or worse? Are different policy sectors really as contradictory as many believe?

The articles presented hereafter deal with various policy sectors: trade, immigration, crisis management and peacekeeping, and development assistance. From each sector we have chosen a timely example that is illustrative of the EU's global standing and responsibility more generally. We have also asked experts from various domains of social life to comment on the texts. The overarching themes of the project are the challenges of collective EU decision making and coherence between policy sectors.

The authors of most articles come from developing countries. European and Finnish contributions are mainly limited to commentary remarks. Perhaps this small shift in power relations helps us Europeans to better understand the impact of EU policies. It may also help Finns to see beyond national decision making.

In addition to coherence between policy sectors, including civil society in political decision making processes has lately become a topic of international discussions. Unfortunately, however, it is not always clear whether such talk is converted into action. To highlight the importance of civil society, a large proportion of the writers featured in this publication project are actively engaged in the civil societies of their respective countries. Alongside their views, contributions from researchers and officials are included in order to promote dialogue between different segments of society.

Encouraging and stirring up debate over the EU's power and responsibility is the main objective of this project. The Union's external relations being about politics, opinions and ideologies, there is no one correct answer to the question of its global role. However, what is most important is to uphold dialogue – the kind that is not dominated by any party. It may well be that enabling fair and equal participation is something in which us Europeans still have a lot to learn.