The European Union (‘EU’) is promoting a suite of innovations in international economic regulation—among them, reforms for secure and sustainable investment, a comprehensive approach to the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, a viable carbon border adjustment mechanism, heightened intellectual property rights protection, the arm’s length principle in taxation, and an increased commitment to non-economic vales. Through a critical analysis of key regulations and policies, this volume explores the evolving architectures of international economic agreements in light of EU practice. A comprehensive analysis indicates that novelties are rooted in geoeconomic considerations, through which a fundamental shift is underway towards the adoption of comprehensive bilateral trade agreements. Whilst innovation has the potential to significantly harmonise cross-border regulatory frameworks, it can also trigger significant fractures, particularly when applied restrictively and asymmetrically. Arguably, the ‘Brussels effect’ will to a certain extent foster a progressive development of international economic regulation, while in some respects being constrained by the status quo of the international economic regime. This volume is part of the Jean Monnet project Third Country Engagement with EU Trade Policy led by the ANU Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University, and supported by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ actions. The project seeks to explore and improve understanding of the EU’s evolving trade policy and its implications for third countries, including Australia and countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The European Union (‘EU’) is promoting a suite of innovations in international economic regulation—among them, reforms for secure and sustainable investment, a comprehensive approach to the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, a viable carbon border adjustment mechanism, heightened intellectual property rights protection, the arm’s length principle in taxation, and an increased commitment to non-economic vales. Through a critical analysis of key regulations and policies, this volume explores the evolving architectures of international economic agreements in light of EU practice. A comprehensive analysis indicates that novelties are rooted in geoeconomic considerations, through which a fundamental shift is underway towards the adoption of comprehensive bilateral trade agreements. Whilst innovation has the potential to significantly harmonise cross-border regulatory frameworks, it can also trigger significant fractures, particularly when applied restrictively and asymmetrically. Arguably, the ‘Brussels effect’ will to a certain extent foster a progressive development of international economic regulation, while in some respects being constrained by the status quo of the international economic regime. This volume is part of the Jean Monnet project Third Country Engagement with EU Trade Policy led by the ANU Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University, and supported by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ actions. The project seeks to explore and improve understanding of the EU’s evolving trade policy and its implications for third countries, including Australia and countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

This book explores how the European Union responds to the ongoing challenges to the liberal international order. These challenges arise both within the EU itself and beyond its borders, and put into question the values of free trade and liberal democracy. The book’s interdisciplinary approach brings together scholars from economics, law, and political science to provide a comprehensive analysis of how shifts in the international order affect the global position of the EU in dimensions such as foreign and security policy, trade, migration, populism, rule of law, and climate change. All chapters include policy recommendations which make the book particularly useful for decision makers and policy advisors, besides researchers and students, as well as for anyone interested in the future of the EU.

This volume offers new perspectives on the evolution of the trade–development nexus in the European Union against dramatic changes in the international context. Without disregarding them, it seeks to go beyond the controversial and extensively researched Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). In particular, it focuses on the reform of the Generalised System of Preferences, the negotiation of various Preferential Trade Agreements, the application of trade sanctions, the allegedly ambitious agendas on decent work, Aid for Trade and aid untying, and the implications of the changing balance of power in global economic relations. Taking diverse approaches and, at times, reaching different conclusions, contributors directly or indirectly address one or more of the three general themes of the book: differentiation, coherence, and norms. This book was published as a special issue of Contemporary Politics.

With the stagnation of the Doha Round of multilateral talks, trade liberalisation is increasingly undertaken through free trade agreements. Gabriel Siles-Brügge examines the EU's decision following the 2006 'Global Europe' strategy to negotiate such agreements with emerging economies. Eschewing the purely materialist explanations prominent in the field, he develops a novel constructivist argument to highlight the role of language and ideas in shaping EU trade policy. Drawing on extensive interviews and documentary analysis, Siles-Brügge shows how EU trade policymakers have privileged the interests of exporters to the detriment of import-competing groups, creating an ideational imperative for market-opening. Even during the on-going economic crisis the overriding mantra has been that the EU's future well-being depends on its ability to compete in global markets. The increasingly neoliberal orientation of EU trade policy has also had important consequences for its economic diplomacy with the developing economies of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states.

The collapse of the bipolar world sustained by the United States and the former Soviet Union led to a power vacuum in the 1990s that the European Union has only reluctantly begun to fill. It is under pressure to take over important international tasks and roles in order to develop a new equilibrium in the system of international relations. After 2000, reforms were undertaken so that the European Union could deal more efficiently with the tasks the new political system had acquired since the early 1990s. With respect to its international role, reorganization of the EU's external relations department was high on the list. The New World Architecture explores the contribution that the European Union is making to the emerging global governance system. It discusses the theoretical and historical aspects of European integration within the framework of the emerging regional EU and global governance systems. It explores three regimes of governance that are contributing to holding together the new emerging EU multilevel governance system. None of these is complete; all are partial. They include the political regime of governance; the socioeconomic regime of governance; and the territorial regime of governance. The author assesses the impact of the European Union on global politics. The Mediterranean and Latin America represent regions in which the European Union is investing considerable effort in order to create new forms of cooperation. Magone argues that within the next twenty-five years global governance may and should emerge as the new and reconfigured stable system of international relations. In this system, the European Union is and will remain the most advanced regional system. This volume will be of interest to specialists, scholars, and students of European Politics and the European Union.

With coverage of European economic union and EU enlargement, this book looks at how the European Union should adapt to cope with the changing global market.