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The post-Lisbon European Union can finally establish itself as a serious player in a multipolar world order. It has the potential to develop a foreign policy combining political, economic, and military elements. But will Brussels make the most of Lisbon? In the end, it is still the member states that call the shots on foreign policy.

The European Union has entered a new phase. The Lisbon Treaty enables the Union to take an important step forward in closer cooperation and greater integration. Brussels aims to support its new foreign policy with a wide range of instruments. Whether or not it can make the most of those instruments will determine whether the Union will hold its own on the global stage. At least the means to do so are at long last...