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Europe and the EU

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The EU's Performance in the World Health Organization: Internal Cramps after the 'Lisbon cure'

25 Oct 2011 - 14:14

This new article by Clingendael's Louise van Schaik in Journal of European Integration analyses the performance of the European Union (EU) in the World Health Organization (WHO). It discusses what happened with the EU's external representation after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. The case illustrates the difficulties surrounding the implementation of the new provisions of this treaty. It is argued that the increased Europeanisation and internationalisation of health issues make it almost inevitable that the EU is becoming a more unified actor within WHO negotiations. At the same time, the EU's performance is constrained by EU member states' being cautious about ceding competences to the EU on health issues, having widely diverging preferences on issues such as reproductive rights, and not fully trusting the European Commission or EU delegation in Geneva to take over external representation in WHO negotiations.

Full reference: Van Schaik, L.G. (2011), The EU's Performance in the World Health Organization: Internal Cramps after the 'Lisbon cure', in: Journal of European Integration, 33:6, pp. 699-713.