Abstract:
This article examines the internal decision-making process in
the European Union when the EU participates in international
environmental negotiations. More particularly, the practical
functioning of the relation between the member states and the
EU negotiator (i.e. the Commission, the Presidency or a lead
country), representing the member states externally, is examined.
Starting from principal-agent theory and based on empirical research
on eight EU decision-making processes with regard to international
environmental negotiations, the article argues, first, that control
by the member states on the EU negotiator takes place most manifestly
during the course of the international negotiations, and, second,
that these ad locum control mechanisms perform not only a control
function, but also a cooperation function.
