After Lisbon: The EU as an Exporter of Values and Norms through ASEM

About the study

1st December  2009 marked a watershed in EU external relations. With the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and the appointment of the first High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy(HR FASP) and the launch of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU embraced on a new phase of international diplomacy. This innovation has recently been acknowledged as an opportunity for the EU to become “…a major actor in global affairs”.1

This introduction highlights four particular points of  significance for this project. This research is innovative as it provides a unique and immediate mechanism to assess the impact of these Treaty innovations. The project Consortium has conducted “EU Perceptions” research during the 2002-9 – a period when the EU began to define the role of the HR CFSP. Consequently, the Consortium has a unique data on the low-level of EU visibility that was evident in the Asia-Pacific region under the Maastricht and Amsterdam provisions. This provides an important benchmark against which the impact of the EEAS and new HR may be compared and assessed. The timing of this new initiative is crucial. By mid- to late 2010, the EEAS will be operational and it is paramount to assess its visibility and impact during its formative years.

Secondly, the EU’s ‘normative’ identity combines the rule of law, governance and democracy with ‘hard’ power decisions, giving the EU “a unique opportunity to brand itself as a beacon of civilization and prosperity”.2 To test this claim, the project will conduct a comparative study of external views of EU global authority and model of integration, environmental initiatives, human rights and democracy in Asia and the role of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) process in shaping these views.

Thirdly, the project will train a new young researcher cohort and provide them with methodological expertise as well as a substantive expertise in EU Studies. To date, the vast majority of EU experts in the region are either of EU origin or were trained in the EU. This project will hopefully help to develop local expertise and see a growth in indigenous EU expertise in Asia, something which is important if the EU is able to positively influence events beyond its borders.

Finally, with perceptions studies being an integral part of EU public diplomacy, the study will contribute to a more informed people-to-people dialogue between Europe and Asia especially in the light of the Lisbon Treaty and the changing framework of EU external action. Indeed, the Lisbon Treaty provides a revolutionary way for the EU to communicate outside of its borders.

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