The Interweaving of European Dynamics through Relations with Việt Nam[L’imbrication des dynamiques européennes au travers des relations avec le Việt Nam]

Việt Nam provides a telling illustration of the tensions and interweaving among the external relations conducted by the European Community, the policies of European institutions, and the foreign policies of member states. This three-layered dynamic emerged gradually between 1973 and 1979, then fully unfolded until 1990. An initial, proactive phase toward Việt Nam enabled the launch of large-scale development cooperation. Subsequently, the prevailing context in Southeast Asia narrowed the Community's room for manoeuvre: the impossibility of deepening relations with both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Việt Nam at the same time paralysed the Community as a whole. Divergent national positions locked the European institutions into a stalemate through blocking tactics in the Council. Yet, the activism of the Commission—and even more so that of the Parliament—began to undermine intergovernmental primacy. Contestation thus surfaced within the institutions themselves, between the institutions, among the member states, and across Europe's external orientations. This second phase is characterised by diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives that sought to bypass state vetoes and resonated particularly with the Vietnamese side. Finally, as conditions in Southeast Asia improved, parliamentary efforts became one of the principal foundations for renewing the Community's policy toward Việt Nam. The establishment of official relations marked a turning point, aligning all European levels behind the new strategy in Asia. Between 1990 and 1996, Hà Nội emerged as a key partner, with ever-expanding fields of cooperation that foreshadowed a potential regional breakthrough.