The History of the EU as an External Actor

The article examines the historical evolution of the European Union as an international actor, highlighting its distinctive nature compared to traditional state foreign policies. Since its origins with the ECSC and the EEC, European integration has developed a complex external dimension, shaped by the interplay between national, intergovernmental, and supranational levels and by the absence of a fully unified foreign policy. Among the main instruments of external action, enlargement emerges as a key tool for stabilisation and for the diffusion of democratic values, alongside common economic policies that have projected the European model outward. The article also explores relations with former colonies, showing how development cooperation evolved from post-colonial dynamics toward more structured partnerships, while still retaining elements of economic dependency. A further dimension is represented by Mediterranean policy, characterised by discontinuity and tensions between national interests and common strategies, often with limited results. Overall, EU external action appears as an evolving process based largely on non-military instruments (soft power), yet constrained by the persistent lack of full political cohesion among member states.