International agreements are one of the principal foreign policy tools of the European Union. The use and scope of agreements have increased over the last decades resulting in a highly complex situation not least due to the different level of cooperation and integration between the EU and its neighbours entailed in these agreements.
The increased influence of the European Union in world politics has sparked a lively debate on what influence it actually has, its degree of coherence and on the qualities that characterise its behaviour. This report assesses how the EU is perceived by other states in international multilateral negotiations.
Two years after the historic enlargement of the European Union, the attraction of membership is manifested by the long line of new applicant countries. This report studies the role of the EU in the domestic policy processes in the former and current applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on the dynamics of the legal approximation process.
This report analyzes current tendencies in decision-making and the evolving concept of “legislation” in the EU. The causes and consequences of the “legal basis game” are discussed.
Published in April 2005, this paper assesses the Luxembourg presidency, with a particular focus on the Stability and Growth pact and the Lisbon Process, two major challenges for the presidency.
This paper looks at the evolution of Britain’s role in Europe in the light of the issues facing the UK Presidency in the second half of 2005.
In discussions on priorities in the European Union, a formula often invoked is that of European added value. The present study seeks to shed light on this concept by tracing its intellectual origins, examining its use in three policy areas and suggesting ways of converting it from an all-purpose mantra into an efficient tool for priority-setting and policy choices.
The countries in "the class of 2004" are now full-fledged members of the European Union, with equal rights to participate in the policy process shaping its future. This implies a quality leap in their political status.
The last decades have been characterized by deep regional integration in Europe as well as the emergence of new integration agreements in other parts of the world. This process has spurred an extensive debate about what the economic effects of integration are, both on insiders and outsiders.
In 2005 the stability pact of the EU was reformed. The revision followed upon violations of the EU fiscal rules by several countries and the breakdown of the pact’s enforcement mechanism.