The aim of the article is to clarify some tendencies of how EU’s external policy is formed. Using the postcolonial approach, the authors illuminate the influence of history on the system of international relations, in particular on the normative influence today. Using the 2016 EU's Global Strategy as an example, the authors demonstrate the specificity of the EU's policy that is aimed at the maintenance of its normative leadership in wider Europe. Brussels allocates a particular attention to the role of Russia in this agenda, which allows speaking about Russia as of an independent actor, and at the same time demonstrates that the perception of Russia as a recipient of international norms (and not as an agent of these norms) is still firmly established in the EU’s approach.