This seminar is based on a research project that addresses the occurrence of informal groups of European Union (EU) member states in EU foreign policy post-Lisbon. After decades of progressive Europeanization, the Lisbon Treaty (December 2009) sought to further Europeanise member states’ foreign policies. The new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, as well as the creation of the European External Action Service, were considered crucial innovations in this regard. And yet, on several occasions, informal groups of member states steered EU foreign policy post-Lisbon, often by interacting with non-EU actors within institutionalized settings of international cooperation, without receiving a formal mandate from EU institutions and/or other member states. Since this phenomenon suggests a fragmentation of the EU institutional scene, the question arises: Why do informal groupings occur in EU foreign policy and to what effect?
Drawing on the existing literature on differentiation, differentiated integration and informal governance, Maria Giulia Amadio Viceré's project conceptualises these groupings as informal interstitial institutions. To address their occurrence, she examines three case studies in which informal groups of member states cooperated with non-EU actors in formalized settings of international cooperation: Kosovo (i.e. Quint); Libya (i.e. International Contact Group on Libya); and Syria (i.e. Friends of Syria Group). With the aim of addressing the leadership dynamics on which informal groups rely, it also provides an in-depth analysis of the role of Italy, a member state that has strong economic and political links with these countries and that took part in all the groupings under consideration.
Maria Giulia Amadio Viceré is a Marie-Sklodowska Curie Fellow at the Schuman Centre.
The seminar is on Zoom - please register to receive the link. All are welcome.