BRUSSELS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Thursday that the European Union (EU) could be a model power of regional cooperation although it will not be a superpower.

　　"The EU will never be a superpower, but could be a model power of regional cooperation," Miliband told the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

　　He set out the vision of "model power" to fend off challenges Europe will face: protectionism, religious extremism, energy insecurity and climate change, rogue states and failing states.

　　"These threats provide a new raison d'etre for the European Union," he said.

　　Individual states are too small to deal on their own with these big problems, but global governance is too weak, he argued, adding: "So the EU can be a pioneer and a leader."

　　But he said, for success, the EU must be open to ideas, trade and people.

　　"It must build shared institutions and shared activities with its neighbors. It must be an Environmental Union as well as a European Union. And it must be able to deploy soft and hard power to promote democracy and tackle conflict beyond its borders."

　　The EU can chart a course for regional cooperation between medium-sized and small countries. Through its common action, it can add value to national effort, and develop shared values amid differences of nationality and religion.

　　As a club that countries want to join, the EU can persuade countries to play by the rules, and set global standards. "In the way it dispenses its responsibilities around the world, it can be a role model that others follow," he said.

　　He asked Europeans to look outward although they need to pay attention to internal reform. "The defining challenges of the 21stcentury are global in scope, not national."

　　He said a model power should champion international law and human rights not just internally, but externally too. "We need to live by our values and principles beyond our borders, not just within them."

　　He asked EU countries to improve their military capabilities. "It's embarrassing that when European nations -- with almost 2 million men and women under arms -- are only able, at a stretch, to deploy around 100,000 at any one time."

　　He also asked EU countries to strengthen their ability to respond to crises in a more comprehensive way. "There is limited value in securing a town if law and order breaks down as soon as the troops move on. There is limited gain in detaining terrorists and criminals if there is no courthouse to try them in or jailhouse to hold them in."

　　Miliband said EU countries must use their power and influence to prevent conflicts.

　　The College of Europe is an institution for postgraduate European studies.