"We have not lost all our soft power, but we do feel our moral authority is not as strong as it used to be." As the world's biggest aid donor, the European Union seeks the rule of law and democracy abroad and has transformed former communist countries into thriving market democracies. But after a meeting in April, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski described the mood among colleagues as "pessimistic and depressing", citing "the many crises engulfing Europe: Syria, Libya, Yemen." Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister, has won plaudits for harnessing Europe's soft power, traveling the globe like U.S. secretaries of state. Neither the British defense minister nor foreign minister attended the EU ministerial gathering in Malta.

Source: Egypt Independent May 04, 2017 09:22 UTC