Research Handbook on the European Union and International Organizations

'This innovative collection of essays offers a uniquely comprehensive exploration of the way in which the EU engages with other international organizations and bodies. While both EU law and international law perspectives are examined, this book goes beyond mere legal analysis to address political and practical issues the EU encounters on the internal and the external fronts. It forms a major contribution to the literature on the relationship between the EU legal order and public international law and on the EU's role in international relations more generally.'
- Geert De Baere, General Court of the EU and KU Leuven, Belgium

'As the European Union assumes an ever more prominent role as a global actor, there is a growing need to understand the ways and means of the EU's engagement with other international institutions. This volume, with contributions from renowned experts and scholars, is the first comprehensive study to address the various relationships in that category. It is the essential companion for practitioners and scholars in the fields of European law and international organization.'
- Catherine Broelmann, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

'This is a commendable and timely Research Handbook, published in an era in which forces of nationalism and populism question the benefits of globalization and existing mechanisms of global governance. In this rich collection of studies, Wessel and Odermatt bring together some 50 experts from academia and practice, to analyze the multifarious interrelationships between the EU and other international institutions (from the UN to the G20, from the WTO to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, from NATO to the Council of Europe).'
- Niels Blokker, Leiden University, the Netherlands

The European Union has established relationships with other international organizations and institutions, mainly as a result of its increasingly active role as a global actor and the transfer of competences from the Member States to the EU. Containing chapters by leading scholars, this Research Handbook presents a comprehensive and critical assessment of these relationships, examining both the EU's representation and cooperation as well as the influence of these external bodies on the development of EU law and policy.

Insightful and analytical, the Research Handbook explores the interaction of the EU with both formal and informal international institutions as it seeks to become more visible and active within these. The many challenges associated with the limits set by the EU and by international law and politics in relation to EU participation and the 'state-centred' international legal system are assessed.

This unique Research Handbook will be a key resource for scholars and students of international and European law and political science, providing a unique overview of the less well-known international organizations in addition to the large institutions. The examination of the development of law and policy will also be of interest to the practitioners of these organizations and those at national ministries.