"Europe is […] moving beyond power into a self-contained world of laws and rules and transnational negotiation and cooperation. […] The United States, meanwhile, exercises power in a world where international laws and rules are unreliable and where true security and the defense and promotion of a liberal order still depend on the possession and use of military might. That is why on major strategic and international questions today, Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus."

Thus neo-conservative publicist Robert Kagan stigmatises the difference in approach to international conflicts between Europe and the United States. To come to the implicit conclusion that "we" are reckless dreamers and that "they" are sensible.

It is a fact that comprehension between the two sides of the Atlantic is not always easy these days. Overtures made from European side are perceived as attempts to clip America's wings. The answer is aggressive unilateralism. As shows the Bush administration's pilgrimage against the International Criminal Court. As shows the bypassing of the Unites Nations in the war against Iraq and in the after-war reconstruction.

This unanswered love shouldn't be a reason for 'soft-power' Europe to loose heart. Experiments as operation 'Concordia' in Macedonia, where the EU successfully prevented a civil war from breaking out, prove the effectiveness of typical European tools in international politics: soft pressure and conflict prevention. If the member states are ready to cooperate, Europe can certainly make a difference, and leave its mark on the world stage. As a Civil Superpower.

In a Conference around this theme, we would firstly like to discuss the EU's role as a civil player in international affairs. What exactly are the strong - civil - assets of the EU? And what precisely does 'soft power' mean?

One of the powerful instruments in this respect is conflict prevention. Not long ago perceived as an idealistic and therefore typical 'green' idea, conflict prevention is today 'one of the core tasks of European foreign policy', according to the European Council. This recognition does not mean that there is unanimity about what conflict prevention exactly is, a reason why we would like to discuss some concrete examples of how it can, and already has been put into practice.

An important step in the EU's conflict prevention policy would be the creation of a 'Civil Peace Corps'. Launched by the Greens in the European Parliament, the idea of such a Corps slowly finds its way through the institutions. It would mean a powerful 'weapon' in the hands of Europe as a 'Civil Superpower'.

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