Description
Scholars and pundits in the United Kingdom have been anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Brexit process to determine where the country will be heading. But on the EU side the ‘Brexit Moment’ has already happened, unleashing a flurry of activity and reforms in Brussels, many of which have been focused on bolstering the EU’s external actorness and making the Union a more effective actor abroad. Many of these reforms (such as PESCO) have received considerable attention, whereas others, like changes in relation to the neighbourhood, have been subtler. What is clear, however, is that the Brexit vote has resulted in significant shifts across all areas of external action in the EU. This panel proposal seeks to address the following questions: How has Brexit influenced the direction of travel in the EU’s external relations? To what extent have these developments varied depending on the issue area in question? How does the EU see itself in the world after Brexit? How successful or credible are the changes made in EU external action since the Brexit vote? The papers address a range of aspects of EU external action, including security and defence policy, development policy, UK-EU relations, and the externalisation of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). By linking theoretical debates to current empirical developments in EU foreign policy the panel contributes to our understanding of how Brexit is affecting world politics and where the EU is heading as an international actor.
