THE EUROPEAN UNION'S EXTERNAL ACTION: NORMATIVE DEVELOPMENTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Abstract

In view of recent developments in international relations, marked by strategic competition for supremacy, growing global instability and attempts to undermine the rules-based international order, this study aims to highlight the efforts made by the European Union to address these unprecedented challenges, focusing primarily on the reform elements and innovations introduced by the Lisbon Treaty aimed at increasing the coherence, impact and visibility of the European Union's external action. Once the legal basis for external action has been clarified, the focus will be on highlighting the European Union's priorities and strategic orientations, in particular the determination to strengthen its role as a global actor in the new multipolar geopolitical context.