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European Commission President Describes Europe's "Smart Power"
José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, spoke of Europe's leading role in tackling international challenges in a September 21 Columbia World Leaders Forum lecture, co-sponsored by SIPA and the Alliance Program.
As the European Union moves toward greater political unity, it continues to be a crucial actor in addressing global threats and crises, including the economic downturn, climate change and international security issues, Barroso said.
Europe and the United States are natural partners, with deep trade links, shared values and a longstanding friendship, the president said. However, Europeans and Americans must also engage with rising powers such as China, India and Brazil.
"No country, no matter how powerful it may be — not even the United States — is able to tackle the challenges of the 21st century on its own," he said. "We either stand together and prosper or we fall separately. This is a fact of life in the 21st century."
Barroso said that the European Union is strengthening its internal economic and political cooperation. Under the Treaty of Lisbon, which took effect in December 2009, the European Union can decide many issues by a majority vote, instead of a consensus by all member states.
Watch the video from the World Leaders Forum. 
With its 27 members, the European Union is a model of globalization in an increasingly interdependent world, Barroso said. The European Union serves as the world's biggest donor of development aid and a major participant in international security operations. It has launched and carried out at least 23 military and civilian missions in the last decade, including in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Georgia and several African countries. Working in cooperation with the United States and many other countries, the European Union is a unique proponent of "smart power," Barroso said.
"Multilateralism is ... in our DNA, and this is precisely the political added-value that Europe can bring to the new emerging world order," he said.
Barroso noted that the economic crisis remains the chief concern of the European Union, the United States and other industrialized nations. He called for greater international trade, both between developed countries and with rising economic powers. The European Commission will announce a new trade policy in October, he said.
Climate change remains an unsolved challenge on the global agenda, and the world must reach an international, binding agreement on it, Barroso said. Europe is working to reduce its emissions by 20 percent by 2020, and it is willing to reduce its emissions further if developed and developing countries cooperate.
Barroso took questions from the audience on the global financial crisis, the evolution of the European Union, the rights of the Roma ethnic minority and other issues.
In response to a question about Turkey's prospects for membership, Barroso replied that Turkey has not met all the requirements for political reforms, and some members of the European Union have reservations about cultural differences. Disagreements over Cyprus also complicate Turkey's prospects, Barroso said. However, Barroso was optimistic about achieving better relations between Turkey and the European Union.
"In the past we have solved challenges at least as difficult as this one," he said.
Dialogue is the key to adjusting to the many changes in the world, Barroso concluded. Rising powers such as China are seeking to play a greater role in the world, and Europe is committed to engaging constructively with them.
"The question is if we are able with these new challenges to build a fairer world that is more just," Barroso said. "We cannot impose our solutions, but we can propose them."
After his address to the World Leaders Forum, 15 SIPA dual-degree students participated in an off-the-record conversation with Barroso. The group discussed a range of topics: the financial crisis, environment and climate change, relations between the United States and the European Union and more.
The meeting took place in Columbia's Low Library after Barroso addressed the World Leaders Forum.
Each of the students is enrolled in a dual-degree program with one of SIPA's partner schools: Sciences Po in Paris, London School of Economics and Political Science, Hertie School of Government in Berlin, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) at the National University of Singapore MPP, Fundação Getulio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Brazil, and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy.
View photos of the students' meeting with Barroso. 
Tim Shenk, 09/21/2010