The power of functionalist extension: how EU rules travel

Abstract

This contribution proposes a decentred conceptualization of European Union (EU) international influence based on the external ramifications of its internal policies. It views the EU's international role less as that of an emerging unitary actor than as conglomerate of loosely coupled sectoral regimes expanding their prescriptive scope towards third countries in differentiated ways. Combining conceptual approaches to (EU) power with empirical–analytical research on external governance and policy diffusion, the contribution defines the mechanisms of regulatory extension, specifies their scope conditions, and highlights the role of transgovernmental networks, often involving international organizations, in ‘co-opting’ third country regulators into EU policies.