European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2013

The European Foreign Policy Scorecard is an innovative project that provides a systematic annual assessment of Europe’s performance in dealing with the rest of the world. The scorecard assesses the performance of the 27 member states and the EU institutions on 79 policy areas arranged around the six key themes below.

The main findings of the Scorecard:

+ The foreign policy gap between Brussels and the member states continued to hinder unified approaches on issues like China

+ The euro crisis has a foreign policy cost - countries like Spain were forced to target limited focus and resources on areas of specific national interest rather than wider aims

+ Small states matter - Sweden and the Netherlands showed that smaller Member States can have a significant impact on individual issues

+ On foreign policy at least the UK remains a committed European - Despite its apparent disengagement from Europe, the UK is still a potent member of the “big three”, driving European foreign policy

+ The Franco-German motor splutters abroad - In foreign policy Europe tends to rely upon broad coalitions of states, rarely involving both Paris and Berlin.

The Scorecard examines 79 individual aspects of European foreign policy in six broad areas: relations with China, Russia, Wider Europe, Middle East/North Africa, and the US, and performance in multilateral institutions and in crisis management. The authors award grades for overall performance and label individual countries “Leaders” or “Slackers” depending on whether they lead or hinder Europe’s ability to achieve its interests on particular goals.

EUObserver, 10.02.13: Does size matter? Small states and EU foreign policy http://euobserver.com/opinion/119027

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