In a recent article in EW Magazine Paul Bosman analyses why, despite growing ambitions, the European Union cannot become a coherent geopolitical power. The cause is not political will, but a structural paradox in the way sovereignty and decision-making are organised within the EU.

The analysis is based, among other things, on the changed direction of the United States, where criticism of the EU is increasingly reflected in security and foreign policy. The article shows how external pressure and internal division together reveal that the EU is struggling to act as one strategic actor.

At the heart of the argument is that the EU was never designed as a geopolitical instrument of power, but as a project aimed at peace, stability and economic integration. This approach has been successful, but in crisis situations it leads to what the article sovereignty paradox mentions: Member States have shared powers, while maintaining sufficient influence to block joint geopolitical action. The article concludes with a call to face this reality and to seek alternative forms of cooperation, such as flexible coalitions of willing states that can act more effectively outside EU structures.

Read it here full article by Paul Bosman in EW Magazine.