Evaluating the National Acceptability of EU External Action: Conceptual Framework for the ENGAGE Project

By Eva Michaels & Robert Kissack

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to help explore the extent to which the acceptability of EU external action to EU Member States affects the EU’s capacity to act in the world. It sheds light on two under-theorised areas.

First, it emphasises the importance and impact of various national actors in Member States including those not directly participating in Brussels-level decision-making who nevertheless would like to support or obstruct EU external action.

Second, it investigates the extent to which EU decisions rely on prior and subsequent consent and affirmation during a process of activation.

Through introducing the concept of acceptability, this paper provides a preliminary theoretical sketch of how national actors can directly and indirectly influence EU external action not only after an initiative has been raised but also ‘downstream’ of the decision moment in and around Brussels to either help, hinder or outright block implementation actions.