Peculiarities of Positioning the Foreign Policy’s Priorities of the European Union

Abstract

The article carried out a comprehensive study of the specifics of positioning the foreign policy priorities of the European Union. The carried out discourse analysis of the process of positioning the foreign policy priorities of the European Union made it possible to determine a number of its features. It has been established that although the model of strategic sovereignty has not been officially defined as the basis for the formation of EU foreign policy priorities, it is based on its basic principles. In particular, the European Commission, determining the EU’s foreign policy priorities, assumes that the next five EU will feel foreign policy pressure, especially from Russia, China and the USA, which undermine the functional foundations of multilateral institutions and consider trade, financial data and security guarantees as tools power, and not as instruments of the global public good. This requires the development of the European Union thinking of geopolitical power. It is proved that the range of EU foreign policy priorities for 2019-2024 is determined by the “geopolitical” status of the European Commission, which defined them as follows: development of a comprehensive strategy for Africa; confirmation of the European perspectives of the Western Balkans; strategic partnership with the United Kingdom; orientation to world leadership (geopolitical subjectivity) preservation of the transatlantic security of the platform in the context of creating a European defense system. It is proved that the framework of EU foreign policy priorities is formed by the need to reorganize the system of European self-sufficient defense, while avoiding the breakdown of relations with NATO. It is important for the EU to maintain and reform the transatlantic partnership as a center of European security and an essential component of the international order and at the same time invest in European security in order to become more autonomous partners within NATO and a source of security for neighboring countries. Achieving such a balance requires the EU and its member states to strengthen NATO's European centers and compete with them in Kosovo and Africa. It is proved that in the face of growing uncertainty and permanent geopolitical risks, the EU should follow a strategic course of action that has public support and is able to ensure its ability to operate autonomously, the basis of which is the consensus between the member states of the association on the format of foreign policy and its priorities.