Behold the mighty European Union, second only to the U.S. in economic heft. But also witness what a minnow it is in world diplomacy. Is it any wonder the world’s hard-nosed autocrats and nationalists, practitioners of Realpolitik all, don’t take the EU seriously, unless the subject is trade?
The ones laughing loudest right now are the presidents of Turkey and Belarus. Neighbors of the EU, each has been causing trouble. Last week, Europe was supposed to impose sanctions against one of them, Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko, for his blatant manipulation of the country’s election in August and subsequent crackdown on protesters. Instead, Brussels did nothing. If that seems puzzling, ask the bloc’s third-smallest member state by population: Cyprus.
The island nation vetoed the sanctions, as any member state can because the EU still requires unanimity for all foreign policy decisions. This has been one factor, amid many, that’s neutered European foreign policy over the years. China, for instance, has often been able to "buy” one or more small countries with lavish investment promises in return for their veto against EU censures over human rights.
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