LAMOSO GONZÁLEZ, ANA PAULA
No
Hague J. Dipl.
Article
Científica
01/01/2024
001357754600001
2-s2.0-85205326913
Why do Member States agree to create supra-state institutions? Do institutional frameworks affect outcomes? This study employs theory-testing process tracing to contribute to liberal intergovernmentalism by examining the configuration process of the European External Action Service, negotiated within two innovative institutional settings: the Convention and the Quadrilogue. The study concludes that liberal intergovernmentalism needs to be nuanced, as institutional settings are crucial in building supra-state institutions by shaping actors’ behaviour through available choices and conclusions. The bargaining was supra-state rather than intergovernmental. Preference formation was domestic but not liberal, as no interest group, other than the diplomatic corps, was involved. The European External Action Service was agreed upon as a package deal based on benefits to Member States and EU institutional actors, along with control mechanisms. Evidence comes from sixty in-depth elite interviews with EU officials and member state representatives directly involved in the negotiations. © Paula Lamoso-González, 2024.
European External Action Service; European Union; liberal intergovernmentalism; Member States; supra-state institutions