What, really, is the role of the European Commission? In this European policy analysis, researchers Mark Rhinard and Neill Nugent analyse the nature of the Commission. They pose the question of whether the Commission is more of a policy leader – charged with initiating policy and legislative proposals that will advance the interests of the EU as a whole – or more of an administrative body, charged with an array of executive tasks.
The Treaty of Lisbon introduced a mandate for the EU to develop a special relationship with its neighbouring countries. How has this mandate impacted, if at all, the so-called European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) which the Union had developed in the wake of its eastern enlargement? And more generally, how has the ENP evolved in view of the new realities on the ground? These are some of the questions that Professor Steven Blockmans explores in this tenth report which SIEPS publishes in the context of its research project The EU external action and the Treaty of Lisbon.
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is a relatively recent add-on to the external action toolkit of the European Union. Introduced as a distinct policy framework cohabitating with that of the classic Community external relations, its hallmark remains its predominant intergovernmental nature.
The Common Commercial Policy (CCP) is perhaps the most expressive incarnation of the EU external action. The Treaty of Lisbon considerably revised this policy, both in substantive and institutional terms.