Aukje van Loon

Publications

• Diverging EU Trade Strategies in Latin America: External Challenges and Internal Debates

  Aukje van Loon

  5th ECPR General Conference, Potsdam; 09/2009

• Diverging EU Trade Strategies in Latin America: Domestic Explanations in External Trade Policy-Making

  Aukje van Loon

  The Future of the EU: External Challenges and Internal Debates, University of Pittsburgh, USA; 03/2009

  After the renewed failure of the multilateral Doha Development Round, a new round of regionalism is expected and will further encourage the trend toward preferential trade agreements (PTAs). The EU, the most integrated regional actor in global governance, has interregional trade relationships with m... [more] After the renewed failure of the multilateral Doha Development Round, a new round of regionalism is expected and will further encourage the trend toward preferential trade agreements (PTAs). The EU, the most integrated regional actor in global governance, has interregional trade relationships with most regions in the world. Concluding bilateral trade agreements (with specific countries rather than on an interregional region-to-region basis) runs against EU’s foreign policy rhetoric and significance of interregionalism; at least until recently. The EU has joined the trend toward PTAs and has only recently given up its moratorium on bilateral trade agreements. This paper will focus on EU trade relations in Latin America. The EU and Mercosur signed the EU-Mercosur Interregional Framework for Cooperation Agreement in 1995 which was to be the start of trade negotiations. Thirteen years on, this interregional relationship is in stalemate and a trade agreement has not been concluded. On the other hand, EU’s bilateral trade relations with Mexico have been proposed, negotiated and concluded rather fast. The EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, the first transatlantic free trade initiative and the fastest, took only nine rounds of negotiations within one year before being signing. This concludes that these two diverging EU trade strategies in Latin America, interregional and bilateral, show immense varying degrees of effectiveness. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to compare the EU’s interregional trade approach with its bilateral trade strategy. As both trade strategies have been used by the EU to spur the movement on the multilateral track (EU external challenges) it is interesting to investigate the EU’s successfulness of these tracks of trade diplomacy. Taking a liberal intergovernmentalist approach the following is of significance; under which conditions will interest groups and EU member state governments (EU internal debates) prefer bilateral trade relations over interregional strategies?

• EU Interregionalism in the 'Near and Far Abroad': A Comparison of Existing and Emerging Cases

  Van Loon, Aukje

  10/2008: pages 328-357;

  ISBN: 978-80-245-1411-6

• EU Interregionalism in the 'Near and Far Abroad': A Comparison of Existing and Emerging Cases

  Aukje van Loon

  Crucial Problems of International Relations through the Eyes of Young Scholars, University of Economics, Prague; 05/2008

  The European Union (EU) is, most probably the most integrated and sophisticated regional actor in global governance. As multilateral trade liberalisation has become increasingly difficult the EU has, since the Treaty of Maastricht in 1990, turned its focus towards interregional agreements and curren... [more] The European Union (EU) is, most probably the most integrated and sophisticated regional actor in global governance. As multilateral trade liberalisation has become increasingly difficult the EU has, since the Treaty of Maastricht in 1990, turned its focus towards interregional agreements and currently has either ‘strategic partnership’, relations, ‘equal basis’ relations or other types of interregional relationships with most regions in the world, i.e. in Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Central and Eastern Europe or the Southern Mediterranean. This article will attempt to analyse and examine both evolving interregional relationships of the EU with the ‘near abroad’ as well as the existing interregional relations with the ‘far abroad’. Research on the ‘near abroad’ focuses on the EU’s dimension, Central and Eastern Europe, and its southern neighbours, the Southern Mediterranean. The geographical dimension of the ‘far abroad’ will deal with EU’s strategic partnerships with Mercosur and ASEAN/ASEM. I will primarily focus on the driving forces behind EU motivation of using the interregionalism approach towards its emerging and existing partner interregional agreements. The first part of this article will give a brief introduction of the current trade policy strategy of the EU. This will be followed by a conceptualisation of interregionalism explaining this trade policy strategy within the context of regionalism. Consequently, subsequent sections examine the nature and scope of existing policy towards inter-regional relations by examining the selected interregional agreements of the EU with Latin America (Mercosur), Asia (ASEAN/ASEM), Central and Eastern Europe and the Southern Mediterranean. Limitations of space prevent a detailed examination of each agreement, so the aim will be to highlight differences and common elements with respect to such issues as institutional arrangements, objectives, processes and scope.

• Political Contestation Towards European Integration. Euroscepticism and the Rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands; Why the French and Dutch Voted No.

  Van Loon, Aukje

  05/2007

  Degree: Master

  Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Stefan A. Schirm