The European Union (EU) self-representation with reference to a set of values is frequently criticized as an âempty speechâ having nothing to do with the reality where external policies are guided by economic and security interests. This article claims that to the contrary, values of human rights and democracy are important for the conduct of the EUâs foreign affairs. It demonstrates that values, as the element constitutive to the EUâs self-representation, set the framework for the argumentation for the EUâs institutional actors within the debate whether to lift the EUâs embargo on arms sales to China, which took place between 2003 and 2005.
