Malta and its Southern Neighbours: Small State Europeanisation in the context of the ENP

Few policy areas are as closely guarded by the member states of the European Union as their foreign policy. This is visible on the EU-level, in the Common Foreign and Security Policy and its individual policies, as the CFSP is considered to be a salient example of intergovernmentalism’s hold on aspects of EU policy-making. However, there have been some examples of small states influencing EU foreign policy. Malta is a relevant object for this study, as it is undoubtedly a small state. This makes it an interesting case study, as it, nonetheless, has clearly defined interests in the Southern neighbourhood. The Southern neighbourhood aspect of the ENP has itself been an under researched area in recent years, as it is widely considered a failed policy, and the interest of EU-scholars has largely shifted away from the Southern neighbourhood to the Eastern neighbourhood, where the threats to the EU, and its influence on the ‘ring of friends’ it aims to create, seem more pressing. Has...Show moreFew policy areas are as closely guarded by the member states of the European Union as their foreign policy. This is visible on the EU-level, in the Common Foreign and Security Policy and its individual policies, as the CFSP is considered to be a salient example of intergovernmentalism’s hold on aspects of EU policy-making. However, there have been some examples of small states influencing EU foreign policy. Malta is a relevant object for this study, as it is undoubtedly a small state. This makes it an interesting case study, as it, nonetheless, has clearly defined interests in the Southern neighbourhood. The Southern neighbourhood aspect of the ENP has itself been an under researched area in recent years, as it is widely considered a failed policy, and the interest of EU-scholars has largely shifted away from the Southern neighbourhood to the Eastern neighbourhood, where the threats to the EU, and its influence on the ‘ring of friends’ it aims to create, seem more pressing. Has Malta, despite its status as a small state, and the current general disinterest in the Southern neighbourhood, managed to capture EU policy-makers’ attention and successfully Europeanised its domestic foreign policy preferences? Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, which traces frames and discursive constructions across the domestic level, to the European level, before concluding with a comparative analysis of two EU foreign policy documents, this study demonstrates that Maltese policy preferences were uploaded to the level of EU foreign policy, more specifically, the ENP's Southern Neighbourhood component.Show less

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Malta and its Southern Neighbours: Small State Europeanisation in the context of the ENP