This working paper analyses the institutional challenges related to external differentiated integration in the European Economic Area (EEA). It focuses mainly on the formulation of EEA-relevant EU legislation and its incorporation into the EEA Agreement. The paper shows that over the past 25 years various institutional arrangements have been added to the initial institutional framework of the EEA in order to increase and maintain substantive integration. However, the European Union (EU) has been consistent in protecting the autonomy of its decision making which is why the EEA EFTA States have far-reaching access to EU policy making but never the right to vote. The EEA EFTA States therefore insist on separate EEA decision making whenever possible. This has given them a surprisingly large amount of room for manoeuvre for instance, by deliberately delaying the incorporation of politically sensitive acts, and by making EEA-specific adaptations to EU acts. On the other hand, they were also forced to introduce simplified procedures for EEA decision making in order to cope better with the high legislative dynamics of the EU. These procedures give priority to the efficacy of the EEA over the decision-making autonomy of the EEA EFTA States by establishing a more or less automatic rule transfer from the EU to the EEA. Thanks to its far-reaching functional and institutional integration the EEA provides a good example for the analysis of the legal and political feasibility of external differentiated integration. Above all, the results of the empirical analysis demonstrate how difficult it is to reconcile the integration reservations of non-Member States with the principles of the EU in an institutional framework designed to ensure the long-term good functioning of their relations.
The European Union (EU) has over time developed close relations, typically taking the form of acquis‐based association agreements, with the countries in its Western and Eastern neighbourhood. This article examines when, where and how these non‐Member States can influence the terms of their association with the EU's law and policies via institutional venues. It expands on the literature of external Europeanization and governance, which has mainly focused on the downloading of EU rules by these countries. Yet, the associated neighbours have the opportunity to exert influence at different stages of the law or policy‐making process: first, before the downloading of relevant new rules by uploading or cross‐loading, that is, by attempting to initiate or shape these rules during the agenda‐setting and the formulation phases; and second, during or after the downloading by tweaking or rebuffing relevant new rules in the adoption and implementation phases. These mechanisms of influence at different points in time and in different bodies are illustrated by examples from the countries of the European Free Trade Association, of the Eastern Partnership and in the EU's customs union. The findings indicate that more uploading opportunities can generally be expected, the more downloading is required, and the better the associated countries' access to EU bodies in the early stage of the formulation of new rules. Weak uploading opportunities make joint bodies more important for tweaking and rebuffing. The proposed conceptual framework contributes to the study of external differentiated integration and opens new research avenues.
Abstract:The decision of the United Kingdom (UK) to withdraw from the European Union (EU) raises the question of how to shape their post-Brexit relations. The EU has developed various forms of external differentiated integration with neighbouring countries, whereby the members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) enjoy the most far-reaching access to the internal market. This article discusses the conditions under which the UK could join EFTA, the EFTA countries' European Economic Area with the EU, or a similar arrangement. In light of the UK's desire to conduct an independent trade policy, to contain immigration, and to take back control of laws, lessons are drawn from EFTA's experience for trade, the free movement of persons, and institutional issues.
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