The European Parliament And Its International Relations

Following the Lisbon Treaty, the powers of the European Parliament in external relations have gradually expanded and it is increasingly influencing the foreign policy of the European Union. This book analyses the role of the European Parliament as an international actor and presents a new debate about its role outside the EU territory. It explores different policy areas including human rights, international aid, trade, crisis management and the environment to provide a systematic analysis of the modern global role of the European Parliament. The book also considers the European Parliament’s regional interactions with Africa, Latin America, the United States, Asia and the Middle East. With a common analytical framework and research covering the lifespan of the European Parliament from its first direct elections in 1979 to the present day, this comprehensive volume presents an unparalleled analysis of one of the most important institutions in the European Union. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union politics and institutions, European policy, government, international relations and European history.

In today’s increasingly complex and interdependent world, the role of parliaments in external affairs remains a relatively under explored topic of research. The multiple patterns of global governance are mostly dominated by the executive branches of government, with parliaments relegated to the sidelines. This insightful book aims to challenge this dominant perspective and demonstrate the increased networking of parliaments both within the EU and with external actors outside the EU. It not only sheds light on EU parliamentary cooperation and networking, but also reveals the growing scope and role of parliamentary scrutiny, control and conflict mediation.

This text explores the ways in which the European Union frames and conducts its international relations. Each chapter deals with the three key themes of the volume - the EU as a sub-system of international relations, the EU and the processes of international relations, and the EU as a power.

The role of the EC in international relations is an area of increasing importance. Its legal implications are the subject of much controversy and debate. This text provides an up to date account of the law and practice of the external relations of the EC and its relationship with international, community and national law.

Parliamentary Diplomacy in European and Global Governance offers a detailed interdisciplinary study of a new global phenomenon: the rise and impact of parliamentary diplomacy in European, regional and world affairs.

Like early mariners, politicians and officials trying to navigate European foreign policy find themselves in an environment of unpredictable hazards hidden institutional shoals, and legal reefs that can tear the bottom out of a policy. This insightful collection of contrasted studies shines the twin beams of political science and legal analysis into these opaque depths. Practitioners as well as scholars will benefit from the illumination. Nick Witney, European Council on Foreign Relations and Former Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, UK This collection on EU foreign policy is an attractive one for several reasons: it contains a very nice set of essays on a topic which has loomed large on the European Union agenda for some years, namely the international role of the EU. The chapters are written by a range of interesting and eminent scholars in the field. Most importantly in terms of its distinctive contribution, the book brings together perspectives from law and from political science. This is done in part by including chapters by authors from different disciplines but also by choosing cross-pillar themes and topics such as the European Neighbourhood Policy, EU policy on Kosovo, security and defence policy, as well as more general cross-cutting themes like the idea of coherence , the position of the EU within international organizations, and the approach of the EU to the international legal order. Each of the individual chapters is well worth reading, and the book as a whole is a useful and interesting contribution to the existing literature. Gráinne de Búrca, Harvard Law School, US Written by leading experts, this book focuses on central issues of the foreign policy of the European Union. The issues explored include: how the EU s judges understand its relationship with the international order; the coherence of the Union s external action; the EU s approach to its neighbours; the Common Security and Defence Policy; and, the EU s participation in international organisations. By addressing each topic from a legal, political science and international relations standpoint, this relevant book highlights the different perspectives that these disciplines bring to the central issues of the EU s foreign affairs, and starts a conversation between the respective communities. Scholars and students in European and international law, politics, and international relations will find this book insightful. It will also prove timely for policy-makers in the EU and international organisations, as well as think tanks and non-governmental organisations specialising in European affairs.

The European Union's foreign policy and its international role are increasingly being contested both globally and at home. At the global level, a growing number of states are now challenging the Western-led liberal order defended by the EU. Large as well as smaller states are vying for more leeway to act out their own communitarian principles on and approaches to sovereignty, security and economic development. At the European level, a similar battle has begun over principles, values and institutions. The most vocal critics have been anti-globalization movements, developmental NGOs, and populist political parties at both extremes of the left-right political spectrum. This book, based on ten case studies, explores some of the most important current challenges to EU foreign policy norms, whether at the global, glocal or intra-EU level. The case studies cover contestation of the EU's fundamental norms, organizing principles and standardized procedures in relation to the abolition of the death penalty, climate, Responsibility to Protect, peacebuilding, natural resource governance, the International Criminal Court, lethal autonomous weapons systems, trade, the security-development nexus and the use of consensus on foreign policy matters in the European Parliament. The book also theorizes the current norm contestation in terms of the extent to, and conditions under which, the EU foreign policy is being put to the test.

This collection brings together leading scholars and practitioners to assess the processes, institutions and outcomes of the EU's collective diplomatic engagement in the fields of security, human rights, trade and finance and environmental politics. It analyzes successes and failures in the EU's search for global influence in the post-Lisbon era.