This paper analyzes the influence of the globalization processes on the European Union’s viability in today’s transformative world. Its main theme of discussion is the tension between an EU that may appear to be threatened by globalization and an EU that may be construed as an active factor of globalization. This paper maintains the view that while global forces exert significant political, economic, social and cultural pressures on the EU’s member states’ ability to remain viable entities of governance, the EU as the embodiment of pooled sovereignty can not only protect the European nation-state from demise, but it can also strengthen it by representing it on the world stage through the legitimacy conferred upon it by the member states. The conclusion offered here is that the EU acts predominantly as a globalizer, even though it is itself exposed to the processes of globalization, and that it can stand as a model of governance from which other regions of the world may seek inspiration.