This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N. 959143. The research aims to investigate the EU’s foreign and security policy (EUFSP) in a complex and contested world. The study highlights the challenges posed by fractious domestic debates, regional fragmentation, and growing interstate competition, which affect the EU’s ability to create a joined-up and sustainable EUFSP. The EUFSP governance structures have evolved irregularly, with a multiplicity of actors resorting to an increasingly diverse array of policy instruments when engaging with external players on multilateral, regional, and bilateral levels. The potential for improved action depends on the capacity of EU institutions and member states to work within the multi-dimensional perimeter of the EUFSP governance system to create the conditions to mitigate the effects of intra-EU contestation, regional fragmentation, and multipolar competition.
