Bidding goodbye to global solidarity? The Transformation of EU Development Discourse in an Era of Geopolitical Competition

Since the inauguration of the so-called “geopolitical Commission” under Ursula von der Leyen in 2019, EU foreign policy discourse has increasingly emphasised the Union’s strategic interests as the primary rationale for external action. This trend has unfolded in a more fragmented international order characterised by intensified geopolitical competition and the growing salience of hard power politics. These developments appear to challenge the EU’s long-standing self-presentation as a normative power driven by global solidarity – understood as a commitment to support populations affected by poverty, conflict or disasters – which historically informed its development policy. Yet systematic research on whether, and how far, the geopolitical narrative is displacing solidarity in EU development discourse remains limited. To address this gap, the paper asks whether the rising prominence of an interest-driven geopolitical narrative eclipses traditional solidarity discourses, or whether and how the two narratives coexist and interact. Building on literatures on EU solidarity and the geopoliticisation of EU external action, it develops an analytical framework capturing two identity-building narratives in EU development policy: a solidarity narrative centred on humanitarian and needs-based motivations, and a geopolitical narrative focused on EU strategic interests, geoeconomic competition, and systemic rivalry with China and Russia. Empirically, the article conducts a qualitative content analysis of debates in the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE) since 2019, using Atlas.ti. In doing so, it provides novel evidence on the evolving discursive foundations of EU development policy in an era of geopolitical contestation.