The competitive position of the EU in the world depends not only on pure economic (trade) power but also on the ever increasing regulatory impact of the Union.
Norms export is a tool frequently used by the EU in its relations with the countries in its closer neighbourhood and beyond. On the one hand, the EU participates in multilateral bodies that create global rules, standards and practices; on the other hand it spreads its own norms and values in exchange for access to the internal market. The norms export takes place through the accession process but also via the conclusion of international agreements between the Union and third countries. Especially, the EU's normative power has once again entered the limelight in the context of the ongoing negotiations between the EU and the USA on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The EU's norms export is usually perceived as a linear one – from the EU as the origin of the common norms to the third countries at the receiving end of the regulatory pipeline. However, against the backdrop of the ever-growing normative influence of the EU in the world one should not overlook the equally increasing influence of third countries on the EU's policy and law making. This seminar seeks to explore the, indeed, circular effect of the EU's activities as an exporter of its acquis.
Speaker: Marja-Liisa Öberg, Visiting Lecturer in EU Law at Stockholm University and Örebro University
Discussant: Ulf Bernitz, Professor of European Law at the Faculty of Law, Stockholm University
Time: 20 January 2016, Wednesday, 12.00 - 13.30
Location: Fakultetsrummet, plan 8, Juridicum, SU