The Emergence of the EU as a New Influential Global Actor

Since the establishment of the first European Community, there were some transformations within the Foreign Policy. If at the beginning the main objective was to maintain a climate of peace between member states, this evolved in order to increase the EU’s role and to transform the Union into a global player with power to influence the international decisions. In the ’70s, Henry Kissinger raised an essential question: “Who do I call if I want to call Europe?”. After more than three decades, the Lisbon Treaty, ratified on 13 December 2009, tried to answer the former U.S. secretary of state for this Foreign Policy question. Thus, through the new institutions and functions created, such as: the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Council President or the European External Action Service, the Union is reshaping its tasks regarding the Foreign Policy, Diplomacy and Security, and the legal personality it currently enjoys is a step forward for its recognition as a leading actor on the international political arena.