This book provides an evaluation of the European Community's transformation from a rather uncoordinated small group of member states, with a barely visible foreign policy, into a relatively cohesive and independent foreign policy actor, that is today known as the European Union. The EC's extensive and hitherto undocumented intervention in the high-profile Central American conflict of the 1980s demonstrates a coherence and convergence around a policy that was different from that of the United States and, in the end, more effective. The book also discusses how four key member states - Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, France and Spain - reacted both to the growing crisis in Central America and to West Europe's conflictual relations with the US. The EC's foreign policy success will not easily be emulated in another international crisis. While the EU remains a non-unitary, non-state actor, it is only in 'non-crises' that the EU, particularly an enlarged EU, will be able to operate an effective foreign policy post-Maastricht.

This book analyzes the relations between two geographical areas with different levels of regional institutionalization: the European Union and Latin America. Characterized by low interdependence and asymmetry, this relationship operates in different levels ranging from EU-individual countries to EU-Latin American summits.

This volume presents a broad range of studies by European, Latin American and US specialists on the European Community's economic and political relations with Central America.

Latin America–European Union relations in the twenty-first century provides a valuable overview of transatlantic trade agreement negotiations and developments in the first decades of the twenty-first century. This edited collection examines key motivations behind trade agreements, traces the evolution of negotiations and explores some of the initial impacts of new generation trade agreements with the EU on South American countries. The book makes an important contribution to our understanding of relations between these regions by contextualising relations and trade agendas, both in terms of domestic political and economic policies and broader global trends. It demonstrates the importance of a shift toward mega-regional trade agreements in the 2010s, particularly under the Obama administration in the United States, in shaping South American and European agendas for trade agreement negotiations and their outcomes. Detailed case studies in the book investigate EU relations and negotiations with countries that have successfully negotiated new generation trade agreements with the EU: Mercosur, the Andean states, Chile and Mexico. Other contributions offer a wider overview of EU-Latin American relations, including parliamentary and civil society relations. The net result is a balanced analysis of contemporary EU relations with South America, useful for students and scholars of foreign policy and political economy in both regions.

This book analyzes the relations between two geographical areas with different levels of regional institutionalization: the European Union and Latin America. Characterized by low interdependence and asymmetry, this relationship operates in different levels ranging from EU-individual countries to EU-Latin American summits.

Arguing that the European Union is a foreign policy actor, "albeit a peculiar one," Smith (international relations, U. of Warwick, UK) explores the foreign policy capabilities and priorities of the EU. Not limiting herself to the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Smith considers foreign policy of the EU to be the compilation of all of its activities abroad and suggests that it has a "comprehensive, extensive and sometimes remarkably effective" foreign policy.The book is distributed by Stylus. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book provides an evaluation of the European Community's transformation from a rather uncoordinated small group of member states, with a barely visible foreign policy, into a relatively cohesive and independent foreign policy actor, that is today known as the European Union. The EC's extensive and hitherto undocumented intervention in the high-profile Central American conflict of the 1980s demonstrates a coherence and convergence around a policy that was different from that of the United States and, in the end, more effective. The book also discusses how four key member states - Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, France and Spain - reacted both to the growing crisis in Central America and to West Europe's conflictual relations with the US. The EC's foreign policy success will not easily be emulated in another international crisis. While the EU remains a non-unitary, non-state actor, it is only in 'non-crises' that the EU, particularly an enlarged EU, will be able to operate an effective foreign policy post-Maastricht.

The EU Central America Association Agreement is an example of the successful completion of a region-to-region agreement and therefore in line with the EU{OCLCbr#D0}’s aim of promoting regional integration in other regions through trade and association agreements. For the EU, economic welfare gains and employment effects from the trade chapter of the Agreement are because of the relative small size of the Central American market expected to be negligible. However, EU exporters will benefit from lower tariffs on manufactured goods especially in automobiles. For the Central American countries (CA), there is the potential of significant gains, but these are not evenly spread. The fact that CA exporters already benefited from zero tariffs on almost all exports to the EU under the extended Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) means that there are relatively few sectors that will have enhanced access with the exception of bananas, raw cane sugar and shrimps. Above all, the Agreement will provide legally secure access to the EU market. The Agreement also tackles cross border services and establishment, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues as well as trade remedies in the shape of anti-dumping, countervailing duties or multilateral safeguards. The provisions on intellectual property rights include Geographic Indications (GIs). The trade chapter furthermore contains a human rights clause which stipulates that the parties must ensure that human rights are respected within their jurisdiction. Furthermore there are provisions on sustainable development.

Since 2013, the European Union (EU) has been implementing the Trade Pillar, i.e., Part IV of its Association Agreement with six countries of Central America, namely Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama (the "CA6 countries"). The European Commission has commissioned an evaluation of the Trade Pillar's (EU-CA FTA) implementation and impact. The evaluation study, prepared by external consultants, analyses the implementation of the EU-CA FTA in 2013-2019 (to focus on its impacts before the COVID-19 pandemic) and in addition, considers data from 2009-2013 to compare trends before and after the EU-CA FTA's entry into force. The analysis covers the economic, social, environmental, and human rights effects of the EU-CA FTA in the Parties to the Agreement and third countries. It also comprises ten case studies to illustrate or add detail to broader findings.