This paper deals with the challenges facing the EU in the Mediterranean. In particular, it addresses the conflict in Libya and relations with Turkey. Neoclassical realism is explained in depth and its differing analytical levels applied to the situations at hand. The analysis shows that the EU's problems in the Mediterranean are primarily due to the lack of a unified foreign policy and a coherent strategy, often aggravated through particular national interests. The gradual change of the international, rules-based order towards a multipolar power structure with several political centers, poses additional challenges that the EU has not yet appropriately adapted to. In addition, the EU is militarily dependent on NATO and therefore cannot or will not intervene in existing conflict zones on its own. However, the analysis also shows that the EU still has various levers at its disposal, particularly of an economic nature, to influence conditions in its favor and secure its interests in this volatile region.
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