The EU: a model impossible to export?
During its 50-year-long journey, the European Union – itself striving to become a key global player speaking with one voice – has been promoting the idea of regional integration to other parts of the world.
But is it at all possible to export the EU model beyond its borders?
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Since the 1990s, EU external relations policy includes the promotion of regional integration and cooperation in other parts of the world. The main reason behind this is to share a recipe that has already proved successful by paving the way to peace and wealth in Europe.
By now, the EU has - more or less - served as a model to regional groupings in Africa, Asia and Latin America, although none of these has come anywhere close to creating anything like the European set-up.
Over half a century, the EU has evolved from a purely economic community to a recognized political player, with powers divided between the European Commission (the executive body), the Parliament (the only directly-elected body), and the Council (representing EU governments).
Currently the 27-nation bloc has its own free-trade internal market, a single currency (in 13 EU states) and a series of treaties, which with time have extended and deepened mutual cooperation.
To become a part of the bloc, strict political and economic criteria must be fulfilled.
Africa's specifics
The African Union was modelled on the European Union five years ago, in 2002, with some of its structures appearing to mirror EU-style integration.
Currently a 53-nation bloc, it is organized around three institutions - the African Commission with its president and college of ten commissioners, the Pan-African Parliament, which is aimed at becoming become the highest legislative body and finally, the Assembly composed of heads of state and government.
Eventually, the AU also aspires to adopt a single currency, to set up an integrated defence force and a human rights court.
"The European Union has served as source of inspiration", AU official Mohamed Mustoofe told EUobserver, but rejected the assumption that it was an exact copy of the EU model.
"You cannot make one-to-one transposition, given Africa's specifics such as tribal conflicts, underdevelopment, HIV or malaria", Mr Mustoofe said, adding the continent's initial priority is to achieve a strong economic playing field, while further political integration is far off.
ASEAN and Mercosur
At the same time, business appears to be the main glue holding together other regional clubs, such as ASEAN in Asia, and Mercosur in Latin America, both trying to emulate EU-style economic ties in order to gain more leverage in dealing with major powers like the US and China.
ASEAN – a club of ten south-east nations formed in the 1960s as a bulwark against communism – is set to have a free-trade zone by 2015 and also wants to draft a common legally binding rule-book.
Similar free-trade ambitions have been mooted by South America's 16-year old Mercosur. The project has been questioned by analysts however, as Mercosur's own member countries have been locked in trade or diplomatic disputes.
According to Antonio Missiroli from the European Policy Centre, promoting regional integration elsewhere "is also part of the [EU's] so-called soft or public diplomacy" as by selling its own model "the EU potentially spreads stability and increases its own credibility."
However, the ability of Africa, Asia or Latin America to act as a bloc has been very limited due to internal disputes and the EU remains a one-of-a-kind project for the time being, Mr Missiroli stressed.
Earlier this month, the chief of the Asian Development Bank also poured cold water on the idea of ASEAN becoming like the EU. "Reaching a broad political and social consensus needed to develop a far-reaching pan-Asian grand plan of regional integration does not appear feasible at this stage", Haruhiko Kuroda said, according to AFP.
'One-of-a-kind project'
According to Mr Kuroda, South-east Asia "should rely on a step-by-step, bottom-up and multi-speed approach, where a few countries can start working together on selected common issues, leaving the option for other countries to join later".
But Michael Emerson from the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies is even more sceptical, saying the EU model cannot be exported, replicated or imposed in other parts of the world.
"The EU grew out from the ruins of two world wars and the European continent shares common political and democratic values, which together make it a one-of-a-kind project," Mr Emerson said.