AbstractsPolitical Science

The mediatized Migration Crises faced currently by the European Union (EU) is materialized in a number by approximately 592,000 migrants asking for Asylum and reported by the member states' authorities during the only first six months of 2015. In this context, we can talk about a humanitarian crisis but also of a deep political, economic and security challenge for the EU. The debates concerning the roles and decisions that the Union should adopt, are vivid. As a matter of fact, the Member States carry different visions of what the common Foreign Policy should be. In this paper, we aim to demonstrate in which measures these discussions affect the EU’s decision process and on the long term, its capacity to act and be a global actor to solve international crises. To do so, we will focus our study on two member states, Germany and United Kingdom. The reason why Germany and UK is chosen, is that each country has different historical background, domestic situation and takes the opposite stance regarding migration problem and EU. Especially, stance of Germany is so-called pro-EU, one of UK is Euro-skeptic. In this way, in parallel with the notion of Actorness, we will put light into the question that if its presence and opportunity could give the EU the ability to be a global actor, the lack of commitment and capability of the member states during this crises represents a significant break to the international role of the EU. Thus, we will conclude that during this crises, the EU is an emerging actor. Its capacity to realize its international ambitions will be define by the will of the member states 1 that would have to agree on what the EU aims to be but also on what it should be. Advisors/Committee Members: PACE, Michelle (advisor).