冷战结束后，欧盟及其成员国重新评估了欧洲安全环境，认为欧洲未来的安全威胁主要来自非传统安全问题，欧洲的内部安全与外部世界的安全和稳定日益紧密地联系在一起，因此欧盟采取了更加积极的对外战略，不仅采取措施加强其在共同安全与防务领域的行动能力，而且不断改组和整合其对外政策工具，加强对外部世界的干预。在利比亚危机期间，欧盟及其成员国全面动用了各种军事和非军事手段，显示了它们通过干预以维护自身利益的决心和能力。
The EU countries,normally well-known for their economic integration and soft power,took the lead in the military intervention in Libya this time, in which France and the UK had played a significant role.In the meantime,nevertheless,they still had to rely on the US and NATO for the intervention mechanism.
