LE3 .A278 2014

2014

Biro, Andrew

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Politics

Politics

This paper analyzes the development of the European Union’s foreign policy and its relevant institutions. The purpose of this research is to further understand and question the reason for the existence of the European Union’s foreign policy. The European Union (EU) is a supranational institution with major influence over public policy areas that were traditionally governed by the nation-state; however, the EU’s inability to have effective influence over its member states’ national foreign policies is decidedly noticeable. Member states of the EU have been stubborn in their reluctance to relinquish foreign policy autonomy to the EU, calling into question why an EU foreign policy even exists. This thesis concludes that the driving force behind the EU foreign policy is the political elite of the member states, and that despite their apparent enthusiasm, the inability to develop an effective foreign policy is a result of the member states’ hesitancy to commit to a supranational foreign policy.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1145