Explaining variation in regional authorities' control

This is the first report of the Foreign Policy Research Centres project on the role of regions in the European Unions external policy fields, funded by the Flemish Government. External policies refer to the policy fields for which the European Union, as a sole actor, represents the member states on the international level. We present a framework of analysis, elaborate the research question, and derive four main hypotheses by drawing on the existing literature on principal agent relationships in EU external economic policymaking. Moreover, we explain the selection of policy fields, the regions to be compared, and the set of international negotiations to be studied. The theoretical part is followed by a short overview of European decision-making procedures and policy instruments for the European Unions external economic policy. The formal division of competences and accompanying procedures constitute the starting point for a further investigation of de jure and de facto decision-making, and thus for the differing ways in which regions can maximize their degree of control.

Jaar van publicatie:2013