At the time of its creation in the 1950s, the ambition of the EU was to bring together the nations and peoples of Europe as they emerged from the aftermath of World War II.

The need to develop its external relations sprang essentially from two sources. As the original six EU countries removed internal trade barriers between them, they had to handle their trade relations with outside countries as a shared responsibility. This gave rise to the common commercial policy, the first area where EU countries pooled their sovereignty in their joint interest. At the same time, the Member States agreed to share part of the financial cost of assisting their former colonies, especially in Africa, as these secured their independence.

New members have joined the EU and the Union has taken on more responsibilities. Therefore the EU has had to define further its relationships with the rest of the world and with international organisations.

The common external trade policy is a key component of the European Union's relations with the rest of the world. It operates at two complementary levels. Firstly, within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), it is actively involved in setting the rules for the multilateral system of international trade along with its partners across the globe. Secondly, the Union negotiates its own bilateral trade agreements with countries and regions. It makes a special effort to give products from developing countries easy access to its market and to promote development through its trade relations.

Financial and technical assistance, which initially concentrated on Africa, was extended to Asia, Latin America and the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries in the 1970s. At this time, the Union also began providing humanitarian aid to victims of natural and man-made disasters around the world.

More than trade and aid

The EU’s agreements with its partners around the globe go beyond trade and traditional development assistance. They cover support for economic reforms, health and education, infrastructure programmes and in some cases cooperation in areas like research and development and environmental policy. They also provide a framework for discussing political issues like democracy and human rights. Recent agreements also require partners to commit themselves to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

A long-standing relationship

As one of the world’s least developed countries, Tanzania benefits from duty-free access for all its exports to the European Union except arms and munitions. Tanzania is also one of the EU’s 79 partners in the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) group which benefit from the Cotonou trade and aid Agreement. The EU is Tanzania’s biggest external market, taking more than 50 % of its exports, while the Union provides just over 20 % of Tanzania’s imports, mainly of capital goods and equipment. EU aid to Tanzania is worth more than €100 million a year. EU-funded projects focus on the transport infrastructure, education, water supply, the environment, AIDS prevention and support for good governance.

Adding a new dimension

Under the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the EU has been developing a common foreign and security policy (CFSP) so that it can take joint action when the interests of the Union as a whole are at stake. Defence is becoming an important aspect of the CFSP as the EU works to promote and maintain stability around the world. As it deals with terrorism, international crime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and global issues like the environment, the Union works closely with other countries and international bodies.

Managing the Union’s external relations is a dynamic process: as the EU crafts its own foreign policy, it must also respond to external forces. These include growing economic interdependence brought on by the combined effect of a wave of market liberalisation around the world, the global communications revolution and accelerating technological progress. The EU has had to update its priorities in a context of more international competition, greater cross-border investment flows and rising global demand for raw materials, especially oil and gas.