Spreading the Standards and Values of the European Union beyond the Borders of the European Integration Area

Abstract

The globalizing world has forced various actors to look beyond their borders and establish relationships with other actors, in order to reflect the current demands of society. The European Union (EU) was able to reflect on this situation very effectively, since the impact of the European integration process does not end only at the external borders of its member states. The main objective of the article was to define the European Union as an important geopolitical actor that can effectively spread its values and norms across the entire political map of the world. The scope of the EU's external impact beyond the borders of the European integration area was identified through the theoretical approaches of inter-regionalism and External Governance. The author analysed how the EU can spread values and standards towards selected groups of actors, namely candidate countries, countries of EU neighbourhood and other regional integration organizations. The emphasis was not only on the process of how the EU can spread its norms and values, but also on how they are accepted by the affected actors. The large scale and institutionalized form of the EU's external impact documents the effort to actively act beyond its external borders. The spread of values and norms towards external actors contributes to the strengthening of the geopolitical position, where the EU represents an actor with a wide global reach. In addition, the article offered a prognosis of which actors will likely to be exposed to stronger external influence from the EU in the coming years.