Twenty years ago, in the pages of the, Journal of Common Market Studies, Hedley Bull launched a searing critique of the European Community's "civilian power" in international affairs. Since that time the increasing role of the European Union (EU) in areas of security and defence policy has led to a seductiveness in adopting the notion of "military power Europe". In contrast, I will attempt to argue that by thinking beyond traditional conceptions of the EU's international role and examining the case study of its international pursuit of the abolition of the death penalty, we may best conceive of the EU as a "normative power Europe".

Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?

To explain the evolution of the EU, a macropolitical approach using overall aggregate data is taken. Four dynamic views are tested: the neofunctional/neofederal assumption of linear growth; the realist view of decline; the governance/pendulum view of cyclical up and down; and the fusion thesis view of structural growth and differentiation. The article uses five indicators: binding outputs; scope enlargement of public policies; transfer of competencies; institutional growth and procedural differentiation; and involvement of intermediary groups in channels of influence. The data point to trends of merging public resources at several state levels, leading to increasing complexities, a lack of transparency and difficulties in reversing the development. This ever closer fusion is explained as a dynamic product of rational strategies of European welfare states faced with growing interdependencies and spillovers, furthered by the institutional logics of EU bodies. Criticized for the lack of legitimacy and the entailing of national democratic constitutions, this new polity may be perceived as a new stage in the evolution of European state and—more open to critical debate—a novel form of representative government.

An Ever Closer Fusion? A Dynamic Macropolitical View on Integration Processes†

In this 2006 book, Jonas Tallberg offers a novel perspective on some of the most fundamental questions about international cooperation and European Union politics. Offering the first systematic theoretical and empirical exploration of the influence wielded by chairmen of multilateral negotiations, Tallberg develops a rationalist theory of formal leadership and demonstrates its explanatory power through carefully selected case studies of EU negotiations. He shows that the rotating Presidency of the EU constitutes a power platform that grants governments unique opportunities to shape the outcomes of negotiations. His provocative analysis establishes that Presidencies, while performing vital functions for the EU, simultaneously exploit their privileged political position to favour national interests. Extending the scope of the analysis to international negotiations on trade, security and the environment, Tallberg further demonstrates that the influence of the EU Presidency is not an isolated occurrence but the expression of a general phenomenon in world politics - the power of the chair.

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Leadership and Negotiation in the European Union

The principle of policy coherence has been the object of a contentious debate in the European Union’s external relations, though discussions have been limited mainly to its foreign policy and its ability to speak with one voice in the international arena. Despite being institutionalized in the Treaty of Maastricht, policy coherence for development (PCD), which implies taking into account the needs and interest of developing countries in non‐aid policies, failed to make headway in the EU, remaining the unheeded concern of some NGOs and a small group of member states. A change in direction occurred in the early 2000s when the European Commission, taking advantage of a number of favourable conditions and using an astute strategy, managed to set an ambitious agenda for the EU. This article, nevertheless, shows that promoting PCD risks being a ‘mission impossible’ for whoever attempts it due to the interplay of various issues and interests, the different commitment to international development of the ...

Mission Impossible: the European Union and Policy Coherence for Development

Studying the administrative infrastructure of the EU is an intriguing affair. Comitology committees, in particular, are significant indicators for analysing and assessing the evolution of the EU's administrative system. Relevant integration-related theories, however, offer several diverging analyses and assessments of their function and significance. Some of the existing empirical data denote considerable growth in administrative participation and a significant differentiation of procedures and forms, indicating a considerable Europeanization of national administrations. Insights into the behavioural patterns within committees indicate an interactive style in which the fundamental constitutional issues and the exact legal form are controversial, but where daily routine is characterized by business-like workings based on technocratic expertise and camaraderie, and geared to consensus among civil servants from several levels. Comparing realist, federalist, neo-functionalist and functionalist approaches, as ...

Comitology: fusion in action. Politico-administrative trends in the EU system

From EPC to CFSP - Does Maastricht Matter?, the Editors. Part 1 History - From EPC to CFSP: Two Decades of EPC Performance, S. Nuttall The Creation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, P. de Schoutheete. Part 2 Institutions - the Stage and the Players: The Institutional Setup and Functioning of EPC/CFSP, E. Regelsberger The Actors Involved - National Perspectives, C. Hill Where the European Commission Comes In - From the Single European Act to Maastricht, F. Cameron The Association of the European Parliament - No Longer the Underdog in the EPC?, T. Grunert The Question of Consistency, H.-G. Krenzler and H.C. Schneider The Defense Dimension of the European Union - the Role and Performance of the WEU, M. Jopp. Part 3 To Act or Not to Act?: The Potential and Limits of the Common Foreign and Security Policy - the Yugoslav Example, G. Edwards Relations with Central and Eastern European Countries - the Anchor Role of the European Union, B. Lippert ECP/CFSP, the Soviet Union and the Former Soviet Republics - Does the 12 Have a Coherent Policy?, D. Allen The 12/15's Conference Diplomacy - Has the CSCE/OSCE Remained a Successful Platform?, H. Schneider Political Dialogue with Third Countries and Regional Political Groupings - the 15 as an Attractive Interlocutor, J. Monar The 12, the United Nations and Somalia - the Mirage of Global Intervention, P. Keatinge Transatlantic Dimensions of CFSP - the Culture of Foreign Policy Cooperation, R. Ginsberg. Part 4 The Future - Challenges and Limitations: The Potential and Limits of CFSP - What Comes Next?, G. Burghardt Enlargement as a Challenge and Incentive for Reform, P. Luif The Intergovernmental Conference, 1966 - How to Reform CFSP?, R. Rummel Appendix - Title V, Article J, of the Treaty on European Union - Provision on a Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Foreign policy of the European Union : from EPC to CFSP and beyond

European Political Cooperation in the 1980s :: a common foreign policy for Western Europe?

Part 1 Introduction - concepts and instruments: the dialogue of the EC/Twelve with other regional groups - a new European identity in international system?, Elfriede Regelsberger competing frameworks - the dialogue and its legal bases, Catherine Flaesch-Mougin. Part 2 Case studies - the dialgue in action: the Lome Covention - a model for partnership, Otto Schmuck the Euro-Arab dialogue, Elfriede Regelesberger cooperation with ASEAN - a success story, Manfred Mols relations with central and southern America - a question of over-reach, W. Grabendorff EC-EFTA relations - neighbours in search of a new partnership, Thomas Pedersen agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council - a promising if difficult beginning, E. Rhein EC-CMEA relations - normalization and beyond, Barbara Lippert. Part 3 The institutional framework - dialogue and the European actors: the Commission - protagonists of inter-regional cooperation, Simon Nuttall the Council of Ministers - the constraint on action, Andreas von Stechow the European Parliament - an emerging political role?, Karl-Heinz Neunreither European political cooperation - concerted diplomacy in an inter-regional context, Peter von Jagow. Part 4 Conclusions - the dialogue and its place in the European and international systems: the relevance to theory to group-to-group dialogue, Geoffrey Edwards.

Elfriede Regelsberger

Papers

Foreign policy of the European Union : from EPC to CFSP and beyond

European Political Cooperation in the 1980s :: a common foreign policy for Western Europe?

Europe's Global Links: The European Community and Inter-Regional Cooperation

The CFSP Institutions and Procedures: A Third Way for the Second Pillar

Die Europäische Politische Zusammenarbeit in den achtziger Jahren : eine gemeinsame Außenpolitik für Westeuropa?