EU Foreign Policy-Making and its Interactions with Internal and External Realities

Abstract

The Lisbon Treaty has undoubtedly inaugurated a new institutional era for the EU. This is particularly evident in the EU's foreign affairs and EU policies with an external dimension. The revised mandate of the High Representative/Vice-President of the Commission, the creation of the European External Action Service and novelties in the Common Security and Defence Policy such as the permanent structured cooperation and the pooling and sharing initiative have given hope for an internally coherent and more effective EU foreign policy. However, in the post-Lisbon era the EU faces unprecedented internal and external realities. Within the EU, financial recession, the rise of nationalist and populist tendencies in the domestic orders of certain member-states and the possibility of Brexit and Grexit present a challenging internal picture of the Union. At the same time, Europe is surrounded by external challenges: crises in Ukraine, Libya and Syria, the refugee crisis and the rise of Da’esh have all tested EU foreign policy and the limits of the EU’s “single voice” in the world. The new conditions inside and outside of the EU have necessitated intense political reflection and tough bargains between the member-states as well as urgent policy-making on behalf of EU institutions. However, have there been any tangible outcomes yet? How does the institutional framework of EU foreign policy cope with the new complexities inside and outside of Europe? Is the current socio-political reality of the EU so different compared to the pre-Lisbon period that we should start rethinking the basic institutional framework of EU foreign policy? Should we consider new revisions of political actors who deliver EU foreign policy? Should we think about changing the instruments of EU foreign policy? Do the new realities necessitate increases in the capabilities of EU foreign policy? This panel will bring together papers from different theoretical and methodological perspectives. The papers will discuss interactions between the EEAS and the European Commission within the area of EU foreign policy under HRVP Ashton and Mogherini, will look into operationalization of the so-called comprehensive approach and how it has been applied on the crisis in Syria and the resulting refugee crisis, will explore the ways of theorizing the emergence, reproduction and change of diplomatic practices and cultures in the EU, will analyse the ENP review and contrast it with the events on the ground both in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood and, finally, will examine the strategic partnership between the EU and China and its impact on a multipolar world.

Title	Details
The role of European Parliament in the EU's external agreements	View Paper Details
EU Foreign Policy-Making in Brussels and EU Delegations under HRVP Catherine Ashton and Federica Mogherini	View Paper Details
The refugee crisis: A failure of the EU's comprehensive approach to security?	View Paper Details
Practice in the field – reshaping the EU’s foreign policy-making from the inside	View Paper Details
The ENP under foreign policy constraints: institutional coherence and external challenges	View Paper Details