EU Preferences and Socialisation: The Willingness of EU Member States to Unite in International Negotiations

Abstract

This chapter looks at why the European Union (EU) Member States would be willing to unite their external representation in international negotiations. It is assumed that two factors are most important: the homogeneity of their preferences and the extent to which their representatives are socialised into operating under EU flag. The first can be considered an intergovernmentalist explanation for EU unity and the second a constructivist explanation. Both factors are likely to be influenced by the existence of EU competence. EU unity in external representation and possibly the effectiveness of the EU in the negotiations are expected to be positively related to a high degree of preference homogeneity and a high degree of EU socialisation.