This book examines a largely unexplored dimension of the European agencies, namely their role in EU external relations and on the international plane. International cooperation has become a salient feature of EU agencies triggering important legal questions regarding the scope and limits of their international dimension, the nature and effects of their international cooperation instruments, their status within the EU and on the global level, and leading potentially to tensions between EU law and international law. This book fills the existing knowledge gap by scrutinizing the international cooperation legal framework and practice of EU agencies, including their mandate, tasks and instruments, together with their legal status as actors with a global dimension. It sets out a general legal-analytical framework which combines legal parameters from EU and international law to assess EU agencies as global actors, and examines in detail three case studies on carefully selected agencies to shed light on the complexities of EU agencies’ daily international cooperation.

“An informative, well-paced, and clearly articulated narrative of the European Union’s development” (Jennifer Yoder, Colby College). This brief and accessible introduction to the European Union is ideal for anyone who needs a concise overview of the structure, history, and policies of the EU. This updated edition includes a new chapter on the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Andreas Staab offers basic terms and interpretive frameworks for understanding the evolution of the EU; the overall structure, purpose, and mandate of its main constituent divisions; and key policy areas, such as market unification and environmental policy. “Readers in America and Europe alike will benefit from the very considerable expertise revealed in these pages.” —Hugh Dykes, House of Lords, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on the European Union “A fine introduction to the European Union and will appeal to a range of collections, from political science and business holdings to college-level collections strong in the media.” —Midwest Book Review

Based on papers originally presented at a symposium held Apr. 5-7, 2001.

Despite concerted efforts in recent years to define the position of agencies in the Union framework, a clear overall view of their role and powers in relation to the EU institutions and to the Member States is still lacking. Their hybrid character as part of the composite EU executive, and the fact that increasing powers are delegated to them, makes an understanding of the efficacy and accountability of agencies ever more important. Benefitting from both academic and practitioner insights from law, political and social sciences, this important book offers an in-depth analysis of the current challenges surrounding European agencies in terms of their design, autonomy, supervisory competence, and legal nature. Among the topics covered are the following: realities of the accountability mechanisms currently in place; impact of agency acts on the EU's institutional balance of powers; agencies as global actors acting on behalf of Member States and EU external relations; agencies derived from former networks of national regulators; non-hierarchical 'par' nature of agencies vis-à-vis corresponding national authorities; agencies as crucial amalgams between EU institutions and Member States; effect of the Meroni doctrine; new financial supervisory agencies resulting from recent economic and financial crises; special role of telecommunications agencies; and intricacies of the relationship between agencies and the European Parliament. Because EU agencies are designed to facilitate the implementation of EU law at the national level, powers are increasingly conferred on them in order to ensure that rules are enforced effectively and uniformly. The time has come, however, to confront the many questions of legality and constitutionality that remain. This book responds to the vital as to the role and powers of agencies in relation to their manifold 'principals', the EU institutions and the Member States, and lays a firm foundation for managing the challenges ahead.

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book examines how the European Union (EU) is perceived beyond its borders in the US; the Middle East: Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iran; Russia; China; India; Brazil and South Africa. The book also analyses the main perceptions of the EU in some key international institutions, including the World Bank; World Trade Organization, United Nations, African Union; and transnational actors, including non-Western media such as Al Jazeera. It seeks to provide a thorough analysis of the implications that these perceptions might have for the global role of the EU. By taking this approach and by providing both conceptual and empirical arguments, the volume provides an innovative perspective on the analysis of the EU as a global actor. It also strengthens a research agenda on the EU external image: an underdeveloped area of investigation in which the editors and the main contributors to this volume have played a pioneering role in the past few years. It will be of strong interest to academics and students of international politics, European studies and development studies.

Is the European Union a unified actor in world politics? The world’s leading economic power is still struggling to find its role in shaping and maintaining global peace, free trade and commerce. How successful is the EU ́s Common Foreign and Security Policy and its institutions really?

This important collection, edited by Jenő Czuczai and Frederik Naert, covers the key areas of EU external relations law and broader institutional dimensions and principles of Union law. It does so under five headings - institutional dimensions; principles of Union law and legal theory; international law aspects; specific EU external policies (the Common Foreign and Security Policy; the Common Commercial Policy; and Justice and Home Affairs); and EU international agreements. Well-established academics and experienced practitioners from the different EU institutions offer a unique insight into EU practice and academic analysis of the most pertinent legal issues of the post-Lisbon legal environment of the EU, in particular in the external relations area. The contributors are: Paul Berman, Michael Bishop, Thérèse Blanchet, Sonja Boelaert, Marise Cremona, Jenő Czuczai, Álvaro de Elera, Bart Driessen, Frank Hoffmeister, Pieter-Jan Kuijper, Hubert Legal, Gilles Marhic, Stephan Marquardt, Frederik Naert, Esa Paasivirta, Ricardo Passos, Ingolf Pernice, Allan Rosas, Ivan Smyth, Christiaan Timmermans, and Dirk Wouters.

It is universally accepted that there has been a huge growth in EU lobbying over the past few decades. There is now a dense EU interest group system. This entirely new volume, inspired by Mazey & Richardson's 1993 book Lobbying in the European Community, seeks to understand the role of interest groups in the policy process from agenda-setting to implementation. Specifically, the book is interested in observing how interest groups organise to influence the EU institutions and how they select different coalitions along the policy process and in different policy domains. In looking at 20 years of change, the book captures processes of institutional and actor learning, professionalisation of lobbying, and the possible emergence of a distinct EU public policy style. More specifically, from the actors' perspective, the editors are interested in assessing how the rise of direct lobbying and the emergence of fluid issue-based coalitions has changed the logic of collective action, and what is the potential impact of 'venue-shopping' on reputation and influence. From an institutional perspective, the contributors explore resource and legitimacy demands, and the practical impact of consultation processes on the emergence of a distinct EU lobbying relationship. It will be essential reading for academics and practitioners alike.

This book provides a systematic collection of EU actors, EU policy and EU actions in global health. It answers key questions on governance of the EU and its policy processes. The book starts with an introduction to the EU as a global actor and continues to outline the historical development and the Treaty basis for health, including the Maastricht and Lisbon Treaties. It also discusses the Commission's global health communication and the subsequent Council Conclusions on global health. Both documents define EU values in global health and identify the future priorities for global health action in the EU. Four of the five priorities are then described from the perspective of a different country experience. The book also considers the opportunities for research and provides an overview of the political, legal and financial instruments available to the EU. It also explores the global health architecture and processes within which the EU is acting, namely at the WHO, in the different multilateral organizations, and in global public health international treaties and regulations. Finally, the book addresses the importance of policy coherence at a national level and provides critical viewpoint on the EU as a global health actor.The book will assist practitioners working in policy making and international negotiations affecting health, as well as students and researchers, to create a better understanding of the European Union, its role in global health, and the uniqueness and specificity of the EU as a global health actor. It provides an overview of how the EU can act in global health and outlines the intersections of health and other sectors, as well as the instruments available to the EU to act effectively at a global level. The collection of contributions in this form and from this health policy perspective are not yet found elsewhere on the market.