Kristin Haugevik

Diplomacy through the back door: Norway and the bilateral route to EU decision-making

This article examines how Norway, a veteran EU outsider by choice, works on a day-to-day basis to compensate for its lack of formal voice in EU institutions. After Norwegian voters' second rejection of EU membership in a national referendum in 1994, Prime Minister Brundtland observed that Norway now must be prepared to use “the back door” to reach EU policy-makers. I suggest that for Norway, a key alternative route to the EU decision-making table has gone through bilateral partnerships. I identify two chief variants of this bilateral trajectory, what I term long-term and rotating bilateralism. Firstly, Norway has pursued long-term ties with selected bilateral partners within the EU system. Secondly, it has systematically strengthened its diplomatic presence in the member state holding or about to take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council. I conclude with some reflections on the relevance of Norway's “bilateral experience” for Britain, as a future EU outsider.

Autonomy or integration? Small-state responses to a changing European security landscape

Is there a pattern in how small European states, inside and outside of the EU, adapt and adjust to EU foreign and security policy? This article introduces a Forum in Global Affairs, discussing how small states are responding to a changing European security landscape. We assess selected European small states’ room for manoeuvre within various fields under the EU external action, and within EU institutional structures more broadly – as part of everyday diplomatic interactions in Brussels and in the context of the rotating EU presidency. As the European integration process enters a new phase, possibly marked by a trend of more differentiated integration and flexibility of individual attachments, small states will continue to face the choice between formal autonomy and integration, and between de facto hesitance and adaptability. With Brexit, the remaining large member states may become more influential, but small states will collectively have a majority of the votes and total population. Perhaps the coming era of European integration will become the era of small states?

Brexit-forhandlingene vakler videre

(Norwegian only): Det norske mediebildet har de siste ukene vært dominert av stortingsvalget. Ikke uventet har debattene handlet mest om hjemlige forhold, men mange har også etterlyst mer fokus rundt utenrikspolitiske spørsmål – i en tid hvor langvarige samarbeidsmønstre og maktkonstellasjoner ser ut til å være i endring. Norske velgere oppgir også å være noe mer opptatt av utenrikspolitikk enn før. Hva skjer med verden utenfor, og hvordan påvirker det norsk utenrikspolitikk og Norges rolle internasjonalt?

Norsk utenrikspolitikk begynner i Europa: arven etter Brende i europapolitikken

Leder: Takk for oss!

Brexit - hva nå?

Leder: Kina, kunnskap og politikk