External Action
With the financial crisis being a global phenomenon and the EU being a major actor in the global economy, there is close interdependence between the EU’s anti-crisis policies and the policies of other actors, be they global players, like the US, China, Russia, or Brazil, or international actors and fora like the Financial Stability Board of G20, the IMF, or the WTO. Thus, crisis reaction last but not least impacts on the external relations of the EU as well as of the MS. Furthermore, there is also a close link between economic and political issues. Also regarding the latter, EU performance faces severe criticism, not the least fuelled by the clumsy organisation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) where unanimity still prevails and hinders efficient action.
The task of the Thematic Area “External Action” is to analyse the effects of the crisis and the pertinent EU policies on Europe’s relation with the wider world.
Sample of Pertinent Research Questions
- What is the impact of the structural and organisational peculiarities of the CFSP on the Union’s action in the wider world?
- How does policy-making in the international arena (G20, IMF, OECD, etc.) and crisis-management affect the EU’s financial architecture and its ability to act?
- How does the EU contribute to a sustainable international financial framework?
- How is the role of the EU in global economic governance institutions affected by the crisis?
- Can the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership help to overcome the crisis?
