High midnight in Brussels
An analysis of the September 1993 council meeting on the Gatt Uruguay Round
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6289840 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Douglas Webber (0000-0002-8305-4869, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 578-594 |
| Publication date | 1998-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of European Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-1763 • E-ISSN: 1466-4429 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13501769880000031 |
| OpenAlex | W2027027451 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 8 |
Most of the recent theoretical work on the European Union (EU) and the European integration process stresses the erosion of the capacity of the governments of the member states to influence policy decisions. This article analyses a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Brussels in September 1993, the run-up to the meeting and its sequel. At this meeting, the conflict between the Commission and France over an agricultural trade accord negotiated by the Commission and the US in the GATT Uruguay Round came to a head. In effect, this conflict was won, it is argued here, by France, suggesting that the national ‘veto’ or threat of it may still be an effective weapon in the EU. The analysis emphasizes the extent to which the EU decision-making process, in this decisive phase of the Uruguay Round, was dominated by the Franco-German ‘tandem’. The bilateral ‘pre-negotiation’ of EU decisions by Bonn and Paris and the multilateralization of their agreements in the Council are neither ubiquitous in the EU nor limited to the great ‘history-making’ issues. Franco-German bilateralism, where it does function, may constitute an important device for the mediation of conflicts that could otherwise paralyse or slow down the decision-making process
Bilateralism · Commission · Council of Ministers · Economics · European union · German · International trade · Multilateralism · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Veto · EU Law and Policy Analysis · European Union Policy and Governance · History · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Public Administration
International Threats and Internal Politics
The Council of Ministers
The Franco-German Relationship in the European Union
Preferences and Power in the European Community
Delegation, agency, and agenda setting in the European Community
The Path to European Integration
European integration and supranational governance
European Integration from the 1980s
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 1999 - 2007 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |