More than Soft Power: the European Union as an Actor in European Security

Abstract

The article focuses on determining the role of the European Union on the international arena in face of new challenges and threats to European security, as well as on actors that shape EU’s security. The main assumption is that the EU, in response to the new tendencies in international order, but also transformations in EU’s security and defense policy, and the EU’s demographic and economic potential, cannot rely on soft power (attractiveness) only, but should also become responsible for guaranteeing security to its member states and direct neighbors. With the revision of European Security Strategy in 2008 and the Lisbon Treaty reinforcement of institutional cooperation between member states on security and defense policy, the EU finally has a great and long expected opportunity to use a wide range of social, political, economical, and military tools.