With the aim of discussing which role the EU should play in international relations two workshops were organized jointly by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the LUISS School of Government (SOG) in Rome, at the viale Romania campus of LUISS University, on March 2nd and April 14th 2015, with the aim of discussing and providing an answer to this question. The two seminars were attended by scholars, EU practitioners and representatives of think tanks and led to fruitful and dynamic discussions with LUISS students. This paper is the product of the joint project and intends to provide a complete picture of and insight into the issues and proposals raised at the meetings.