Early bird or late riser? Analysing the timing of European Parliament involvement during the negotiation of international agreements
(2023) European Union in International Affairs VIII — Location: Bruxelles (3.May.2023)
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- Authors
Bardou, Marine 
- Abstract
- This paper systematically maps the timing of European Parliament (EP) involvement during the negotiation of international agreements. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, EP consent is required to conclude most international agreements. This represents over 25 agreements a year in various policy areas like trade or transport. The EP is involved through formal and informal means, such as resolutions. However, the timing of EP involvement varies considerably, with different impact in each negotiation phase. For example, the EP can better shape the substance of agreements during mandate-setting. Therefore, mapping timing is essential to identify the EP’s role(s) in the consent procedure. Hence, this paper asks: what is the timing of the EP’s involvement throughout the negotiation processes of international agreements? The paper systematically examines the sequences of EP involvement, in order to create a typology. For each of the approximately 450 agreements concluded since 2009, a sequence of events is compiled, composed of EP involvement activities, situated in negotiation phases by including procedural steps. The sequences of EP involvement are then clustered by similarity utilizing an optimal-matching algorithm. The clusters form the basis of the typology. Through this systematic, cross-case analysis, the paper provides a comprehensive picture of EP involvement in the negotiation of international agreements. It contextualizes existing case studies which have focused on a handful of agreements.
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Bardou, M. (2023). Early bird or late riser? Analysing the timing of European Parliament involvement during the negotiation of international agreements. European Union in International Affairs VIII, Bruxelles. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/100933