During the Libyan crisis, Solana’s successor, Catherine Ashton, deliberately sought to limit the EU’s role to that of a super-NGO focused on humanitarian aid and economic development. Recently, during the vote on Palestinian representation at the United Nations, the EU called for its members to abstain – an odd way to affirm Europe’s commitment to global leadership.
在利比亚危机期间，索拉纳的继任者阿什顿（Catherine Ashton）有意地将欧盟的角色限定在专注于人道主义援助和经济开发的超级非政府组织的范围内。最近，在巴勒斯坦地位的联合国投票中，欧盟号召成员国弃权——对于欧洲谋求全球领导权的目标来说，这一做法令人费解。