1. The European Union’s engagement with other international institutions Emerging questions of EU and international law Ramses A. Wessel and Jed Odermatt * 1. INTRODUCTION Over the years, the European Union’s (EU) relationship with other international organizations and institutions has further developed, mainly due to the increasing role of the EU as a global actor. 1 Not only has the EU sought to become more visible and active in these organizations, but the normative output of these bodies also has an important effect on the development of EU law. The EU’s participation in international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the United Nations (UN) was a logical consequence of the transfer of competences from the Member States to the EU over the past decades. Yet, for legal or political reasons, not all international organizations accept the EU as a full member, which leads to a plethora of different arrangements, ranging from full membership of the EU to having to rely on its Member States to be represented. 2 Over the past decade, various studies on the EU and other institutions have been written, mainly by political scientists and international relations experts. These volumes have mostly been concerned with the question of how ‘effective’ the EU has been in various fields of governance and in different organizations. 3 This is not to say that legal * The parts by Ramses Wessel were written as a Visiting Fellow at the EUI in Florence. 1 Among the many examples, see B. Van Vooren, S. Blockmans and J. Wouters (eds), The EU’s Role in Global Governance: The Legal Dimension (Oxford University Press, 2013); J. Czuczai and F. Naert (eds), The EU as a Global Actor: Bridging Legal Theory and Practice (Brill|Nijhoff, 2017). 2 Cf S. Gstöhl, ‘“Patchwork Power” Europe: The EU’s Representation in International Institutions’ (2009) 14 European Foreign Affairs Review, pp. 385–403. 3 Along with many individual papers, see in particular K.E. Jørgensen and K. Laatikainen (eds), Routledge Handbook on the European Union and International Institutions: Performance, Policy, Power (Routledge, 2013); K.E. Jørgensen, The European Union and International Institutions (Routledge, 2008); O. Costa and K.E. Jørgensen (eds), The Influence of International Institutions on the EU: When Multilateralism Hits Brussels (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); S. Oberthür, K.E. Jørgensen and J. Shahin (eds), The Performance of the EU in International Institutions (Routledge, 2013); A. Orsini (ed), The European Union with(in) International Organisations: Commitment, Consistency and Effects across Time (Ashgate, 2014); E. Drieskens and L. van Schaik (eds), The EU and Effective Multilateralism: Internal and External Reform Practices (Routledge, 2014); S. Blavoukos and D. Bourantonis (eds), The EU Presence in 2 Ramses A. Wessel and Jed Odermatt - 9781786438935 Downloaded from Elgar Online at 07/01/2020 08:22:06AM via free access