Punching Above Their Weight: EU Small Powers and the Indo-Pacific

By Fabio Figiaconi

3.6.2024

9Dashline

According to the European Union (EU) High Representative Josep Borrell, the Indo-Pacific is where “the future of our planet and of history will be decided”. Because of its growing economic and political importance for global equilibria, the EU itself and various major EU states such as France, Germany, and Italy have drafted or are developing their strategies, aiming to directly influence the region’s dynamics.

Interestingly, many small EU countries such as Lithuania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Ireland have recently followed suit by drafting their own Indo-Pacific strategies. The Netherlands, as the first mover among the four, published its document in November 2020, followed by the Czech Republic in October 2022, as well as Lithuania and Ireland a year later. At the macro level, these strategic papers align closely with the priorities outlined in the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. The Dutch guidelines, for instance, explicitly discuss the country’s interests and actions to be undertaken in the Indo-Pacific within a European framework. Similarly, the Lithuanian document makes clear that the country’s strategy “aims to contribute to the implementation of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific”.

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