Fifty years ago six European countries came together to create a unique form of regional organization. The objective was to ensure war would never again ravage the European continent, leaving a trail of death and devastation in its path.
It has undoubtedly been a tremendous success. For 50 years its members have enjoyed unprecedented levels of peace, prosperity and stability. And so they have pushed it to go further. Over the years it has evolved to be much more than a simple trading bloc coordinating members' trade policy and setting common tariffs. Now numbering 27 members, the EU today is a political organization active in all the areas that pose the greatest challenges to society in the 21st century.
For countries around the world that means we are no longer just a trading partner. Now we are a strategic partner for issues as varied as international terrorism, climate change, HIV/AIDS and resolving the world's most entrenched conflicts.
In our relations with our international partners we project the values we believe have contributed to our own success. Our prosperity has grown out of a particular form of regional cooperation which has developed hand in hand with a deeper commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is this experience, the secret of our own success, which we seek to offer to others.
The EU acts in many different ways on the world stage, but a common EU foreign policy is a relatively new addition to our activities which we are still developing. We realize that sometimes makes it difficult for our partners to understand how to work with us. But even though we are not the most straight-forward of international partners, we are certainly one of the most influential. And our ambition is to contribute even more to the international community and to our partners around the world.
One frequently forgotten fact is that the EU is already the world's largest donor of international assistance. We currently provide 60 percent of the world's official development assistance. We aim to tackle poverty and provide humanitarian assistance wherever it is required.
We also deploy our resources to provide prosperity and stability to others. The EU has developed a unique set of skills in assisting countries in transition. Our expertise has been crafted by our experience at home helping the countries of Southern Europe and then Central and Eastern Europe make the transition to market economy and an open society. We now seek to use those skills elsewhere, to ensure others benefit from the same prosperity and stability.
Around the world the EU has a dense network of formal agreements and over 130 delegations and offices to cooperate with countries on issues like trade, energy, the environment, human rights and international organized crime. We have a growing range of foreign policy instruments available, not just our trade and aid policies, but also our rapid response to humanitarian emergencies, and our police and military missions. In strengthening our role in the world our task is to deploy these instruments as coherently and effectively as possible, whether that be in Lebanon, the West Balkans or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We are already making a difference -- by playing a part in finding a solution to conflict in the Middle East and trying to resolve the international stand-off over Iran's nuclear intentions. We are leading by example on questions like climate change and energy security. All these questions will be at the heart of the international agenda in the months and years to come.
We believe that it's only through partnership that solutions to these questions can be found. That's why we put so much value on our relations with our partners around the globe, but it's also why we are so committed to multilateralism. We fully support the institutions of global governance such as the UN and the WTO. We want to work with our partners to strengthen those organizations and the rules-based multilateral order they uphold.
The EU is not a finished story. Our institutions and powers are still evolving and nowhere is that more true than in the area of foreign policy. But it is already clear that our partners see us as a different kind of partner than the purely trading partner we once were. They see the strategic value of greater cooperation with us, just as we see the strategic value of greater cooperation with them.
Similarly, the EU's citizens expect their leaders to put Europe on the world map. They want us to create better lives not only for them and our neighbors but for everyone. So this is our objective for the next 50 years: using the achievements of the last 50 years -- our wealth, peace and experience -- not only to maintain our own standard of living, but also for the benefit of others.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner is European commissioner for external relations and neighborhood policy.
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