Wpływ tożsamości międzynarodowej Unii Europejskiej na jej politykę zagraniczną

International identity of the European Union has been shaped due to the values and norms that form its constitutive basis, and which are: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, respect for human rights, social solidarity, sustainable development. As a consequence, in cooperation with the third countries, the EU deals with, alongside broadly defi ned economic issues, the matters of democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and intercultural dialogue. To achieve the objectives specifi ed on the basis of these values, the EU adopts its typical methods: the institutionalization of cooperation, comprehensiveness of activities, policy of conditionality and multilateralism. The declared objectives of the EU’s foreign policy therefore bear the features of political idealism, which to a large degree distinguishes it from other international actors. In practice, however, these objectives are accomplished to a limited extent, because they are often contrary to the interests of the EU member states.