Making a difference in multilateral negotiations: the European Union and the global agenda on aid effectiveness

Abstract

This article argues that the European Union (EU) can make a difference in multilateral negotiations, yet its external impact is likely to be more significant not when it has a high internal capability, and the systemic context is favourable, but rather when a policy entrepreneur (be it the European Commission alone or in concert with some member states) acts purposefully to push the EU's common position forward. To reach this conclusion, it traces the trajectory of the aid effectiveness norm through a series of high-level forums held in the 2000s and early 2010s. The illusion that the EU could shape global discourse and affect decisions in international settings did not last long, as its attempts to enhance the quality of aid were replaced in the mid-2010s by a stronger emphasis on the promotion of its economic and political interest.