IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v61y2023i6p1622-1638.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Friend Zone Forever? The Essence of and Justifications for the EU's Decision‐Making Autonomy

Author

Listed:
  • Marja‐Liisa Öberg

Abstract

The expansion of the European Union's (EU) regulatory sphere creates conflicts of sovereignty between the EU and its member states, and third countries that lack a possibility to participate in the making of those laws and policies. The conflict is epitomised in the concept of the Union's decision‐making autonomy. Albeit stringently applied, the concept is ambiguous and undefined. This article endeavours to unfold its meaning, use and significance and examine whether its rigid nature is justified in light of the Union's aims to expand its regulatory sphere. The article argues that the ultimate rationale of decision‐making autonomy is to ensure the effectiveness of the EU legal order and to compensate for the member states' loss of sovereignty, investment and risk‐taking. Insofar as non‐member states do not demonstrate similar commitment to the EU, exclusion from decision‐making is justified to retain the privilege and attractiveness of membership.

Suggested Citation

  • Marja‐Liisa Öberg, 2023. "Friend Zone Forever? The Essence of and Justifications for the EU's Decision‐Making Autonomy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 1622-1638, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:61:y:2023:i:6:p:1622-1638
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13459
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13459
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.13459?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Phinnemore, 2023. "The United Kingdom: Turning its Back on Influencing the EU?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 1488-1511, November.
    2. Sieglinde Gstöhl & Christian Frommelt, 2023. "Beyond Downloading: Venues for Associated Neighbouring Countries to Influence EU Law and Policies," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 1512-1528, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sandra Lavenex & Marja‐Liisa Öberg, 2023. "Third Country Influence on EU Law and Policy‐making: Setting the Scene," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 1435-1453, November.
    2. Meltem Muftuler‐Bac, 2023. "Turkey's Influence as a Third Country on the European Union: From Association to a Key Partner," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 1471-1487, November.
    3. John Erik Fossum, 2023. "The EU and Third Countries: Consequences for Democracy and the Political Order," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 1639-1655, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:61:y:2023:i:6:p:1622-1638. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.