The European Parliament in EC external Relations, From the Inception of European Political Cooperation to the Single European Act

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-138
Author(s):  
Umberto TULLI
Keyword(s):  
European Parliament ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Member States ◽  
External Relations ◽  
Political Cooperation ◽  
Single European Act ◽  
Supranational Institutions ◽  
Rights Issues

European Political Cooperation represented one of the most innovative and yet vague and contested areas of cooperation among EC Member States. As an intergovernmental practice that left no room for supranational institutions, it did not contemplate any formal role for the European Parliament (EP). Focusing on the EP and EPC after the 1979 elections, this article aims at making three points. First, it argues that direct elections gave the EP stronger political arguments to claim more powers but parliamentary demands on EPC were not different from those emerged already in the early Seventies. Second, given Member States’ resistance to parliamentary pressures, the EP developed some original initiatives in international affairs, in order to undermine the intergovernmental features of EPC. Parliamentary actions were particularly effective on human rights issues. Finally, it points out that with the signing of the Single European Act, the role of the EP in foreign affairs remained, at best, limited.

World Diplomacy of the European Parliament

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 121-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davor Jančić
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Information Asymmetry ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
External Relations ◽  
The World

This article examines the role of the European Parliament in ensuring democratic participation in European Union external relations and global governance. Although the Lisbon Treaty has reinforced the European Parliament’s foreign affairs prerogatives, many obstacles hinder its influence. This prompts the European Parliament to invest considerable institutional resources not only to counterbalance the Commission and the Council and reduce information asymmetry, but also to enhance its posture on the world stage through value-oriented and region-oriented parliamentary diplomacy. The article argues that by conducting world diplomacy, the European Parliament generates critical mass for its institutional empowerment by a crafty application of its treaty rights, by means of non-legislative instruments, and by establishing bilateral and multilateral diplomatic contacts with parliamentary and executive bodies worldwide. The European Parliament thereby attempts to portray itself as an actor without which decisions cannot be made.

The European Parliament's Role in EU Treaty-Making

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1009-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ott
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
External Relations

The European Parliament's role in EU external relations and treaty-making has increased over the years through constitutional practice and Treaty amendments. Finally, with the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Parliament's constitutional rights in treaty-making establish – in the words of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) – ‘symmetry between legislation-making and treaty-making in compliance with institutional balance provided for by the Treaties’. In a comparative overview, the European Parliament has ascertained more extensive powers over treaty-making compared to the majority of national parliaments which are only involved in politically important international treaties. This contribution addresses the consequences of this symmetry or parallelism and asks whether it leads to structural symmetry or even procedural symmetry which synchronizes the acts of legislating and treaty-making with each other. This contribution analyses the role of the European Parliament in the different phases of international treaty-making against the backdrop of this constitutional practice. This constitutional practice is shaped by intergovernmental agreements, bilateral arrangements and European Parliament resolutions and is influenced by the mounting case law of the CJEU. It also assesses the European Parliament's role in concluding international administrative agreements concluded by the Commission and Europol and how far the constitutional practice is in line with EU primary law.

Incremental Activism in Soviet Third World Policy: The Role of the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee

Slavic Review ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 614-630
Author(s):  
Jan S. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Control Unit ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Mikhail Gorbachev ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy

Historically, leaders of the Soviet Union have shown extraordinary faith in the power of bureaucratic reorganization to solve political problems. The 1985-1987 restaffing and restructuring of the foreign policy establishment indicate that Mikhail Gorbachev shares this faith. In the first sixteen months of his leadership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replaced its minister, two first deputy ministers, seven deputy ministers, a third of all Soviet ambassadors, and created four new departments. In addition, important changes were made in the central party apparat, affecting three of the CPSU Central Committee departments: The International Information Department was abolished. The Propaganda Department gained added prominence in international affairs with the appointment of a new chief, Aleksandr Iakovlev, who began playing a conspicuous role as Gorbachev's advisor at international conferences even before his elevation to the Politburo in January 1987. Of great significance for the Soviet foreign policy establishment as a whole, the International Department (ID) was given new leadership, a new arms control unit, and expanded missions.

The role of parliament in international relations and WTO negotiations: the case of Norway

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLUF LANGHELLE ◽  
HILMAR ROMMETVEDT
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
National Level ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Constitutional Theory ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Domestic Affairs

According to traditional constitutional theory, foreign affairs is the prerogative of the executive. However, globalisation and the dual process of internationalisation of domestic affairs and domestification of international affairs imply that the days when foreign policy was the exclusive domain of the executive are over. The article explores the effects of globalisation on the role of Parliament in international relations in general, and WTO negotiations specifically, using the Norwegian Parliament as an illustration. Three findings are presented. First, at the international level attempts are made to develop a ‘parliamentary dimension of the WTO’. Second, at the national level the Norwegian Parliament has become more actively engaged in international relations. And, third, the Norwegian Parliament plays an important role in the processes of defining national interests and determining national negotiation positions in the WTO, especially with regard to possible trade-offs between the offensive interests of fisheries and the defensive interests of agriculture.

The quest for the Brazilian synchrocyclotron

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA M. RIBEIRO DE ANDRADE ◽  
R.P.A. MUNIZ
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Nuclear Physics ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Nuclear Technology ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Particle Accelerators ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Military

ABSTRACT Early efforts to bring particle accelerators into Brazil exemplify the interactions between advanced scientific countries and the periphery in the years 1948––1956 and between the history of science and the history of foreign affairs. The physicists Cesar Lattes, Ernest Lawrence, Herbert Anderson, Isidor Rabi, and Rear Admiral ÁÁlvaro Alberto played central roles in these efforts. The story brings out the role of the military and scientists acting within the Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fíísicas and the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas to promote nuclear physics research aimed at the development of nuclear technology in Brazil. The decision-making process involved science, politics, secret agreements, and international affairs.

Providing for European-Level Diplomacy after Lisbon: The Case of the European External Action Service

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Duke
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
External Action ◽  
Lisbon Treaty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Member States ◽  
External Relations ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe Lisbon Treaty may well be on ice, may perhaps even be moribund, but there remain compelling reasons to think through the identified shortcomings of the European Union in external relations. Many of the innovations in the area of external relations that are contained in the treaty are dependent upon ratification by the EU's member states, but some are not; the European External Action Service (EEAS) falls into the latter category. Although the actual implementation of the EEAS will face formidable hurdles, as has been outlined in this contribution, the exercise of thinking through these challenges is essential if the EU and its members are to begin grappling with many of the issues examined in this special issue — ranging from the role of national diplomats in today's world to the successful pursuit of structural diplomacy and the effectiveness of the EU in multilateral organizations.

Principle of Subsidiarity and the EU Environmental Policy

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas de Sadeleer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Legislation ◽  
Member States ◽  
Single European Act ◽  
The Eu

The principle of subsidiarity is a fundamental principle of the European Union. It has first been introduced in the field of environmental policy by the Single European Act in 1987 and extended to all fields of shared competencies by the Maastricht treaty in 1992. Since then much has been done to operationalize the principle, and subsidiarity has received increasing attention by the Union’s institutions and Member States. The following contribution provides a brief appraisal of the role of the principle and of how it has influenced environmental legislation, so far.

scholarly journals Year 2019 and international agenda of the European Council

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-51
Author(s):  
Nigar Tahir qizi Sultanova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
European Council ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Political Cooperation ◽  
The Eu

The European Council represents the supreme level of political cooperation between the EU member-states. Diverse questions pertaining to international politics are discusses on the various levels: summits (in 2019 EU – League of Arab States summit, EU –China summit, EU – Ukraine summit in Kyiv, EU – Canada summit in Montreal, G7 summit); conferences and informal meetings; council boards on foreign affairs; joint conferences; association councils, etc. A new strategic agenda 2019-2024 adopted by the European Council determines he priority areas that guide the work of the European Special Councils and other EU institutions. Transatlantic relations, crises in Syria, Ukraine and other parts of the world, relations with Russia, Iran nuclear deal, and other question remain on the agenda of the European Council. The article explores the legal framework of the actions of European Council in the area of foreign policy. The overview of foreign policy agenda of the European Council allows analyzing the role of the European Union on the international arena.

Foreign Policy Coordination in the European Community

1990 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Purusottam Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
European Community ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Political Community ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Member States ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Political Cooperation ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Council Of Ministers

One of the corner stones of the European Economic Community since its inception in 1958 has been the concept of political cooperation among the member states. Despite its economic character the founding fathers envisaged an essentially political community to be brought about by greater functional cooperation through Community organs such as the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.1 Greater harmony was also to be brought about in the conduct of Member States' foreign relations and the Community was increasingly to speak with one voice in international affairs.2 Although the necessity to impart a more formal character to the process of consultations on foreign policy issues was felt during the decade following the establishment of the Community the first concrete steps in this regard were initiated only in 1969 which resulted in the so-called ‘Davignon Report’ in 1970.3 Following its recommendation for a common European diplomatic effort European Political Cooperation (EPC) was set up in 1970. The process which was to consist of foreign policy coordination among the Member States of the European Community was to be conducted outside the framework of the treaties establishing the Community and thus not to be governed by the decision-making rules that applied to the meetings of the EEC Council of Ministers.4

scholarly journals The Conclusions of the ‘Dialogue on the future of Europe: How to build a more effective and genuinely strong Union?’ Conference Organised by the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law and the Ministry of Justice

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-223
Author(s):  
Julianna Sára Traser ◽  
Márta Benyusz
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Member States ◽  
International Conference ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

This article concludes the presentations made at and the main lessons drawn from the international conference held on 21 September 2020, within the framework of the pan-European dialogue on the future of Europe, co-organised by the Ferenc Mádl Institute and the Ministry of Justice. It also presents the EU context and background of the debate, the role of the EU institutions, and the evolution of their position. The event was attended by representatives of the EU, Hungarian politicians, and representatives from academia and civil society. With this event, Hungary officially launched a series of conferences on the future of Europe. The presentations in these conferences reflected the crises facing the Union, including the institutional challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effectiveness of the EU and its Member States' responses to them. The speakers considered the involvement of and consultation with citizens important to the process. In the context of disputes over competences between the EU and the Member States, some speakers drew attention to the spillover effect, and others called for the strengthening of the supervisory role of constitutional courts and the need for more effective involvement of national parliaments in subsidiarity control, with regard to the sovereignty of the Member States and the primacy of EU law. Critical remarks were made on the limited nature of civil society representation at the EU level. The article reflects on the main events on thinking about the future of Europe over the last four years, including the main initiatives and positions expressed by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Heads of State and Government, citizens' consultations, and institutional competition in relation to the thematic and organisational issues of the EU-level conference. Whereas the European Commission and European Parliament, which has an ambitious position and has already proposed concrete solutions to organisational and governance issues, were the first to formulate their vision, the position of the Council, representing the Member States, will not be established until June 2020. Thus, no joint declaration on part of the institutions has been adopted thus far and no conference has been hosted, either. In view of all this, the organisation of the international conference by the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law and the Ministry of Justice can be considered timely and proactive.

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