At the end of the twentieth century, the European Union must decide whether to accept the transformation from powerful economic entity to an equally powerful political entity. By doing so, it would assume the responsibilities that correspond to its own potential and influence and that a difficult and disorderly world expects and needs. With the challenges of external enlargement and internal reform, the European Union will have to prove that it can respect the sensitivities and interests of its own members while becoming even more responsive to the needs and expectations of the outside world. In this book, Curt Gasteyger offers a valuable and critical contribution to the ongoing search for a European foreign and security policy identity.