THE ESSENCE OF THE EU’S STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND THE USA AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LISBON TREATY

In order to increase its strategic and autonomous capacity, the Euro pean Union needs greater visibility in its global partnerships. After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, this issue became highly relevant, particularly in assessing the impact of the Treaty—namely, whether it contributed to the establishment of the EU as an actor both at the regional and global level. One of its main contributions was the attempt to create a framework that would strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of the EU in the field of foreign and, above all, security policy. The wars taking place today on a global scale pose a real challenge to the European foreign and security policy, putting pressure on EU institutions as well as member states for proactive engagement and wise collective decision-making. In order to deliver more in this regard, the EU’s partnerships with its strategic partners must be prioritized, because only through greater engagement with its partners can the EU remain focused on its interests. The emphasis in this paper is placed on analyzing the novelties intro duced by the Lisbon Treaty in redefining the EU as a global actor, and whether it enabled—or failed to enable—the achievement of political cohesion and greater authenticity of the EU in foreign policy and security cooperation with its strategic partners, above all with the United States.