In the context of the major changes that have been taking place in the global stage, whereby the EU’s values and standards — not to mention its own existence — are constantly being challenged from outside as well as from within, new foreign policy tools have emerged, such as the EU Global Strategy. To analyse the EU’s current challenges and opportunities, the Center for International Studies at ISCTE-IUL develops a research project to understand the kind of role the EU can play in the current transformations that we have been witnessing, as well as the domestic and external obstacles it faces as an actor. In this context, CEI organizes in Lisbon an annual interdisciplinary international conference on Europe as a Global Actor, with the presentation of papers by academics from all over Europe, which are then published at CEI's Ebook'IS series.