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Transnational European Party Federations as EU Foreign Policy Actors: The Activities of Europarties in Eastern Partnership States*
- * I am indebted to Antonios Nestoras and Małgorzata Staniaszek for suggesting this topic as worthy of academic analysis. Earlier versions of the article were presented in the 2013 EUDO Dissemination Conference in Florence and the 4th EUIA Conference in Brussels in 2014. I thank participants in these meetings (particularly Heidi Maurer and Evangelos Fanoulis), as well as Spyros Economides at the LSE, for their comments. I also thank three anonymous referees for their constructive suggestions, and the Editors for their assistance. The usual disclaimer applies.
Abstract
This article assesses how the involvement of European party federations (Europarties) in the politics of Eastern Partnership (EaP) states relates to the objectives of the EU in the region. Under specific scope conditions, Europarties can promote EU interests and values and help EU neighbourhood policy overcome some of the inconsistencies created by the lack of the enlargement tool. The article conceptualises Europarties as transnational actors whose external activities match the pathways of EU influence in EaP states. Empirically, by examining political developments in Georgia and Moldova, the article demonstrates how Europarties function as a conduit for EU strategic influence over pro-European elites, as well as a normative influence on the functioning of party politics in EaP states.