The EU remains a potent international actor despite the damage to its reputation caused by the Eurozone crisis and intra-European squabbling over the best recipe for economic revival. There is no room for complacency, however. In a rapidly-changing world, as the United States reassesses its multiple foreign commitments and emerging nations, including China and India, compete for power and influence, the EU must constantly renew its foreign policy credentials or face irrelevance. A stronger commitment to building a European common defence and security policy is also necessary.

For the Brussels Think Tank Dialogue that took place on January 28th, Shada Islam (Friends of Europe), Ronja Kempin and Ronja Scheler (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politk) and Vivien Pertusot (Ifri) took up three key challenges facing “Global Europe” in 2014.

Vivien Pertusot's article focuses on the worrying state of European defense, Shada Islam's on EU-Asia relations and Ronja Kempin's on the leadership changes within the EU and how to increase the EU's coherence and effectiveness in foreign policy.