Suchergebnisse

Introduction : the European neighbourhood policy in a comparative perspective / Sieglinde Gstöhl -- Mapping the European Union's neighbourhood relations : the European economic area as a prototype for the integration of EU neighbours / Sieglinde Gstöhl -- Differentiated integration in the Eeuropean economic area : what lessons can be drawn for the European neighbourhood policy? / Christian Frommelt -- Who can join the European economic area? / Georges Baur -- Challenges in exporting the internal market : lessons from the energy community / Dirk Buschle -- The northern dimension : a format for pragmatic cooperation with the EU's biggest neighbour / Peter Van Elsuwege -- EU-Turkey relations : customs Union and more... or less? / Tamás Szigetvári -- Switzerland's bilateral approach to European integration : a model for Ukraine? / René Schwok and Cenni Najy -- EU-Russia relations in the wider europe : from strategic partner to major competitor? / Irina Petrova -- Comparing the european union's policy towards the western Balkans and the South Caucasus / Syuzanna Vasilyan -- The effectiveness of institutional arrangements in the European Union's relations with its neighbours / Marc Franco -- The EU's differentiated integration frameworks : legislative approximation and lessons for the eastern partnership / Aaron Matta -- The EU's enlargement and neighbourhood policy strategies : the role of political conditionality / Sühal Semsit -- The European Union and (frozen) conflicts in its neighbourhood : the SAP and the ENP compared / Julija Brsakoska Bazerkoska -- European Union or Eurasian Union? : a dilemma for the eastern partnership countries / Ramunas Vilpisauskas -- Markets versus morals? : assessing EU arms exports to autocratic regimes in its closer and wider neighbourhood / Giselle Bosse -- A comparative analysis between pre-accession and ENP reforms in the agricultural sector of the EU neighbouring countries / Christos Kourtelis -- The eu's other neighbours : lessons for the European neighbourhood policy / Sieglinde Gstöhl

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) has often been interpreted as yet another recent crisis with detrimental effects on the EU's global image and role. Is the EU likely to be a weaker international actor as a result of Brexit? Drawing on actorness and role theory, this article argues that despite the UK's departure and the uncertainty surrounding the nature and scope of the future EU–UK relationship, the EU, who remains a relevant player in world affairs, may even become a stronger international actor. Although the UK's departure shrinks the EU's overall resources, it opens also new opportunities for it to acquire additional capabilities and to conceive novel roles. This is partly due to a confluence of developments not directly related to Brexit, in particular the United States' foreign policy under President Trump and the assertive great-power politics of both China and Russia. As a result, the EU's international role of market and normative power is likely to develop a stronger security dimension with a more geopolitical approach.
actorness, Brexit, China, development policy, European Union, role theory, security policy, trade policy, United States

Abstract. This article investigates why the EU's representation in formal and informal international institutions still varies so widely. It draws on a number of case studies and, by analysing their findings in a comparative manner, makes this fragmented representation visible. It argues that institutional rules relating to both the EU and the international fora need to be considered to explain this patchwork. The weaker its legal competences and internal coordination mechanisms, and the stricter and less equal the rules of participation in international institutions, the greater the EU's inability to 'speak with one voice'. The plausibility of this claim is illustrated by various examples selected from different issue areas and international institutions of global importance.