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For years, the foreign policy of the European Union has been shaped by a form of abstract moralism: the idea that Europe could export standards of democracy and human rights solely through regulatory pressure, environmental treaty diplomacy, and economic assistance. Today, this model has revealed all of its limitations. In a multipolar world characterized by the return of great powers and power politics, Europe must adopt a doctrine of open strategic realism.
A conservative foreign policy is founded on the priority defense of the national interests of the member states and the security of European civilization. This requires abandoning utopian narratives and starting instead from geographical, economic, and demographic realities.
First, Europe must rethink its projection into its immediate neighborhood. The Mediterranean basin, North Africa, and the Middle East can no longer be treated superficially. It is necessary to establish pragmatic alliances with countries of origin and transit for migratory flows, making development aid conditional on genuine cooperation in preventing departures and facilitating the repatriation of illegal migrants. Border protection is not merely a measure of domestic security, but the foundational act of a nation’s foreign-policy credibility.
Second, foreign policy must serve Europe’s energy and economic security. Dependence on hostile powers for supplies of critical raw materials, energy, and technological components has weakened the continent. Effective diplomacy must work toward diversifying suppliers and protecting European industrial supply chains, without replacing one dependency with another, particularly toward China or other autocratic regimes.
Finally, there is the relationship with historical allies. The alliance with Western democracies and the United States remains a cornerstone, but it must be a partnership among equals, not one of subordination. Europe must do its part to be recognized as a reliable, strong, and autonomous actor.
There can be no international influence without industrial, military, and energy strength. Europe will once again matter in the world only when it stops behaving like a globalist bureaucratic arbiter and starts acting once again as a great community of nations guided by realism and pride in its history.
Giuseppe Arnone