Labour in Europe is committed to the international coordination of humanitarian efforts, an ethical foreign policy and peace-building. No European state can face the international challenges ahead by acting within its national borders. As an alliance of 27 Member States, the EU’s 'soft' power - in the form of economic sanctions, trade agreements and diplomacy - continues to exert a positive influence on the world. From Zimbabwe to Georgia, and the Middle East to Kosovo the EU has stood up for positive intervention. In the past five years the EU has deployed over 20 missions, from full blown military operations in the Congo and Bosnia, to border monitoring missions in Moldova and on the Gaza-Egypt border, ceasefire monitoring in Indonesia, security sector reform missions in the Balkans, West Bank, Iraq and Afghanistan, or civilian protection mission in Chad.

Labour MEPs are pushing for an EU that acts as a force for good in the world. Labour in Europe has worked towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, keeping weapons from getting into the wrong hands and for positive trade agreements with countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, which are crucial to the future of these developing economies. Labour in Europe has been central to building an EU that delivers for developing countries.