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Rinna Kullaa, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow
The European Parliament and the UK Parliament – A Relationship in Foreign Policy 1992-2007
My subproject researches the relationship between the UK Parliament and the European Parliament within the general subject area: parliamentarisation of foreign policy. My purpose is to show the evolution of foreign policy as one of the key topic areas in addition to internal and legal policy in the work of the European Parliament. Of the three subject areas namely internal policy (defined by the European Community) and legal definitions (defined by the Justice and Home Affairs) have evolved at a more rapid phase and with more precision than common foreign policy. In many ways common foreign and security policy remains the weakest sector of the work of the European Parliament and the European Union. Foreign policy remains primarily defined in bilateral talks, bilateral negotiations and relationships. This despite foreign policy’s fundamental and key role in parliamentary democracy.
Furthering the development of a common foreign policy the European Union has redefined itself in three main stages with the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) and the Treaty of Lisbon (2007). Events such as significant financial crises and other crises also effect the determination to reach a common foreign policy Instead of researching the response of the UK Parliament to the European debate from the perspective of a particular conflict that influenced the evolvement of the common foreign policy (such as the NATO Kosovo intervention 1999, or the Bosnian War 1993-1995) I approach the topic of foreign relations from the point of view of evolution through these three stages: from the Maastricht to the Lisbon Treaty 1992-2007. Investigate the position of the UK Parliaments (1992, 1997, 2001, 2005) in reference to these three treaties and its impact on the redefinition of EU wide foreign policy. My goal is through this approach add to general goal of authoring the narrative of a new parliamentary history.
The title of my first working paper is:
The European Parliament and Europe’s New Members: The role of the EP in accepting new member states to the EU 1979-2011
Contact me via email:
rinna.kullaa _at_ jyu.fi