The upgrading of Asia in American strategic thinking has prompted Europe, and more specifically the European Union, to embark on its own pivot policy, with mixed success so far. Although there are some similarities in approach, the EU pivot so far is quite distinct from the American version, placing more emphasis on economic partnerships and cooperation and less on security and competition. It is also noteworthy that the United States and European pivots have been received differently by the Asian partners in general, and in China in particular. For example, whereas the U.S. pivot is habitually viewed in Beijing as a potential threat and a possibly destabilizing force, or a least a sign of resistance to Chinese policies in the Asia-Pacific, the European pivot has generally been more positively considered by China. What character the European approach to the Asia Pacific should take on, is however still a source of much contention, and an ongoing debate within the EU’s policymaking and academic circles. While we have in this paper identified four main nodes of the discourse, a coherent Asia policy has yet to emerge from the debates. An important point to consider is that while the U.S. pivot, and in particular the U.S. engagement with China, enjoys broad bipartisan support within the American government, inside Brussels and among the European capitals, in Asia, and in particular China, it remains a very divisive issue. As the new EU leadership is about to settle in, there must be an acknowledgment of a broad range of internal challenges, many of which are intimately intertwined with a rapidly changing and increasingly Asia-centric world. As the international order is becoming more and more in flux, the stakes rise and the potential pitfalls and rewards are both higher as European governments seek to navigate the uncharted waters of a world where the greatest economic upheavals since the Great Depression are challenging the established alliances and policy patterns of the last two centuries. As such, it would be advisable for Europe’s new leadership to consider certain core issues when seeking to address the implications of Asia’s rise and the U.S. pivot. First, it is imperative to recognize the importance of the challenges at hand, both in the short term and even more in the long term, and to coherently address the issues according to the priority and vigilance each issue deserves. It has recently become clear while that much of the European Union has struggled with a democratic deficit at home, there also exists a coherence deficit abroad. The American rebalance to Asia, is symptomatic of a wider rebalance of economic and political power eastwards. This will be one of the central international trends in the world to come, and will put strains on many current relationships, requiring a coherent, deliberated response. It is an area which Europe, through its primary interlocutor the EU, has so far failed to deliver. Instead, the range of partly overlapping and partly competing policy approaches is currently being played out within a European policy framework that poses distinctive challenges to European foreign policymaking. Finally, the governments of Europe must acknowledge that they are facing a wide-ranging set of options, not only in terms of how to engage Europe, but how best to do so within the framework of the trans-Atlantic alliance. Failing in this task will result in the applying of a description which has been used in the past to describe Europe as an international actor, namely capax imperii nisi imperasset (“it seemed capable of power, until it tried to be one”).6
The upgrading of Asia in American strategic thinking has prompted Europe, and more specifically the European Union, to embark on its own pivot policy What character the European approach to the Asia Pacific should take on, is however still a source of much contention, and an ongoing debate within the EU’s policymaking and academic circles , a coherent Asia policy has yet to emerge from the debates while the U.S. pivot, and in particular the U.S. engagement with China, enjoys broad bipartisan support within the American government, inside Brussels and among the European capitals, in Asia, and in particular China, it remains a very divisive As the international order is becoming more and more in flux, the stakes rise and the potential pitfalls and rewards are both higher as European governments seek to navigate the uncharted waters of a world w challenging the established alliances and policy patterns of the last two centuries The American rebalance to Asia, is symptomatic of a wider rebalance of power eastwards