How are the external relations of the EU articulated and shaped?
How effective is the EU as an international actor?
What factors determine the evolution of the EU's external relations?

The above important questions are attempted to be answered by the contributions of academics, researchers, and specialized scientists contained in this collective volume, which constitutes the first attempt in Greek literature for a comprehensive approach to the EU's external relations.

Through the presentation of the historical and institutional framework of the EU's external relations, with reference to the basic agreements governing these relations and the mutual influence developed between the EU and the international system, the international presence and "performance" of the EU are studied, as well as its relations with other countries, regions, and international organizations, and more generally the role played by the EU in the international system.

The contributions are articulated along three specific axes: bilateral relations with the most powerful forces of the international system (USA, Russia, China), relations with regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America), and international and regional economic organizations and security organizations (UN, WTO, IMF, NATO), and finally, horizontal thematic policies with international extensions (common foreign and security policy, migration, enlargement policy, neighborhood policy, energy policy, environmental policy).