8 - The Community and Its World

Summary

How did the Community interact with states and regions outside Europe, and what global role did it play? This chapter contends that the European Community was only able to develop a moderately clear profile in specific issues and in relation to particular non-European regions – and at the same time it was remarkable that it even managed to accomplish that. There were several starting points, with relations with the United States and with the member states’ (ex-)colonies turning out to be especially influential. In these processes the European Commission played a central role, always seeking new opportunities to wield influence. While it is true that the member states’ governments insisted on their sovereignty, at the same time they supported the Community’s basic premise of relating to third states as a collective political order. This was important not only externally but also internally. Together with the Commission’s proactive role, these links to the internal dynamics within the Community created a momentum that the member states were not always able to control. Ultimately it transpired that the tension between the postulated primacy of the member states and the inherent logic of the integration process was constitutive for the EC’s global possibilities and perspectives.