The European Economic Area: Decision‐Shaping during the COVID‐19 Pandemic

The expansion of the European Union's (EU) regulatory sphere creates conflicts of sovereignty between the EU and its member states, and third countries that lack a possibility to participate in the making of those laws and policies. The conflict is epitomised in the concept of the Union's decision‐making autonomy. Albeit stringently applied, the concept is ambiguous and undefined. This article endeavours to unfold its meaning, use and significance and examine whether its rigid nature is justified in light of the Union's aims to expand its regulatory sphere. The article argues that the ultimate rationale of decision‐making autonomy is to ensure the effectiveness of the EU legal order and to compensate for the member states' loss of sovereignty, investment and risk‐taking. Insofar as non‐member states do not demonstrate similar commitment to the EU, exclusion from decision‐making is justified to retain the privilege and attractiveness of membership.

Section: Application and Justifications Of Decision-making Autonomy: ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Friend Zone Forever? The Essence of and Justifications for the EU's Decision‐Making Autonomy

Öberg

2023

“…'The EU dominates the associated non-members-it makes them "rule takers" because of the agreements' built-in asymmetries' (Eriksen, 2018(Eriksen, , p. 1000. Whilst these institutionalized arrangements form an inside-out perspective, third countries also shape EU rules (Jonsdottir, 2022;Kuhn and Trondal, 2023;Lavenex and Öberg, 2023;Schwok and Najv, 2023). Third countries gain access to the EU institutions through these processes of policy opt-ins (Ganzle et al, 2019) and the extension of EU jurisdiction granted (Frommelt and Gstöhl, 2023).…”

Section: Understanding Third Country Influencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the precise nature of how non-members exert an influence on the EU from an outside-in perspective varies based on their relative power (Jonsdottir, 2022), their objectives to accede to the EU (Müftüler-Baç, 2016;Schwok and Najv, 2023) and the EU's receptiveness towards these third countries either as potential members or as non-members opting into EU policies (Frommelt and Gstöhl, 2023;Kuhn and Trondal, 2023). Third country influence rests on access to the EU via formal and informal channelsthrough institutional set-ups in the former, and social interactions and contacts with policy-makers and bilateral relations with Member States in the latter.…”

Section: Understanding Third Country Influencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Non‐EU, European third countries align themselves to EU policies (Eriksen and Fossum, 2015; Fossum, 2019; Ganzle et al ., 2019; Leruth et al ., 2019) as the EU extends its acquis beyond its own territory with security cooperation, access to the Single Market and the Schengen zone, free trade agreements, Customs Union and policy opt‐ins (Gstöhl, 2015; Lavenex, 2009, 2015). As analysed in this special issue (Lavenex and Öberg, 2023), the EU has formal, institutionalized relations with third countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) (Jonsdottir, 2022), bilateral agreements with Switzerland (Schwok and Najv, 2023), a Customs Union Agreement (CUA) with Turkey (Karakas, 2013), Stabilization and Association Agreements (SAAs) with the Balkans and the ENP (Leuffen et al ., 2013; Schimmelfennig and Winzen, 2020).…”

Section: Understanding Third Country Influencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third countries gain access to the EU institutions through these processes of policy opt‐ins (Ganzle et al ., 2019) and the extension of EU jurisdiction granted (Frommelt and Gstöhl, 2023). These institutional mechanisms for third countries with their formal treaties determine their ‘decision‐shaping’ abilities (Ganzle et al ., 2019; Jonsdottir, 2022; Lavenex, 2009). The EU's association framework, formal institutional links and intergovernmental relations constitute the main basis for third country's access (Lavenex and Öberg, 2023).…”

Section: Understanding Third Country Influencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Turkey's Influence as a Third Country on the European Union: From Association to a Key Partner

Müftüler‐Baç

2022

Turkey represents a unique case for the European Union (EU) as a third country. Turkey's long standing institutionalized association with the EU furnished Turkey with formal and informal access to the EU. These access points, together with its structural power and bilateral relations with Member States shape the modalities of its influence. This article proposes that Turkish influence as a third country evolved with the interplay of its access to EU institutions and structural power. Turkey has different modes of access to EU which range from formal institutions and EU Agencies to its bilateral relations and its membership in institutions such as NATO. The article's empirical discussions identify how Turkey's influence as a third country on the EU policies is driven by this interplay of access and power, uncovering its role in different policy areas. Finally, Turkey's influence is visible in setting precedents for the EU's relations with other third countries.

Third Country Influence on EU Law and Policy‐making: Setting the Scene

Lavenex¹,

Öberg

2023

This introductory article conceptualizes the notion of third country influence on European Union (EU) law and policy and proposes an analytical framework theorizing the venues and means through which third countries may gain such impact, under what conditions and with which implications for the EU's legal and political order. The article first introduces the focus on outside‐in influence in the context of European studies, generally, and EU privileged third country relations, specifically. Thereafter, an analytical framework is developed for mapping and explaining the outside‐in dynamics on EU law and policy‐making differentiating between diplomatic, governance and discursive venues; coercive versus technocratic and normative mechanisms of influence; and the legal constraints and political implications of these processes. Turning to the potential determinants of these occurrences, the article then proposes a set of hypotheses for conditions under which third countries can influence EU law and policies, before summarizing the individual contributions to this Special Issue.