Friday

29th Mar 2024

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?

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The EU remains a one-of-a-kind project for the time being (Photo: European Commission)

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.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us