This paper examines the hypothesis that EU external action (which, according to the Lisbon Treaty as the relevant EU framework agreement, encompasses EU external relations as a collective term for externalized EU internal policies and EU foreign policy) has been unsuccessful in the Mediterranean region due to the inconsistency of the foreign policy process and incoherence of the aims of three EU Mediterranean policies (Euro-Mediterranean Partnership–EMP, European Neighborhood Policy–ENP, and Union for the Mediterranean–UFM). In that context, the first objective of this dissertation is to provide the reasons as to why the EU external action has failed in the Mediterranean region. Secondly, it will point at the wider implications of this failure in terms of EU aspirations to be a global actor. Research methods used in empirical analysis that included content analysis of primary and tertiary sources, combined with discourse analysis of primary and secondary sources, has resulted in the following. EU external action in the Mediterranean region has been unsuccessful in all three stages of the foreign policy process. (1) In the stage of formulating Mediterranean policies due to inconsistency between EU institutions in defining the Mediterranean region as a structural context of EU Mediterranean policies, EMP's purpose and EMP's and ENP's priorities. (2) In the decision making stage of EU Mediterranean policies due to the incoherence of aims of EU’s foreign policy and many EU's externalized internal policies between EMP, ENP and UFM, whereby this incoherence was most prominent between 2004-2008 regarding foreign policy issues, JHA, trade and energy between EMP and ENP. Since 2009, the situation concerning the currently effective ENP and UFM has not changed significantly, since foreign policy, JHA and energy policy have remained incoherent, while trade policy is not part of the UFM. (3) In the implementation stage of EU Mediterranean policies due to the inconsistency in bilateral implementation of multilateral instruments of EU Mediterranean policies in the foreign policy field, and in the JHA from the side of south-Mediterranean partners, despite the fact that they have adopted these instruments jointly with EU Member States. Inconsistency of the foreign policy process and incoherence of the aims between the three EU Mediterranean policies are weakening the EU capabilities (the ability to formulate, adopt and implement policies). These together with unutilized opportunities (for cooperation with south Mediterranean partners through taking into consideration their interests, and interests of other regionalization actors in the Mediterranean region) as the two analyzed elements of EU actorness, are demonstrating that the EU is still an emerging (regional) actor that is yet unable to assume the role of a foreign policy actor on a global level due to its complex nature.