Lessons for Brexit? New book on the EU’s privileged partnerships

Sieglinde GSTÖHL, Director of the Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, and David PHINNEMORE, Professor of European Politics at Queen’s University Belfast and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, have published the edited volume “The Proliferation of Privileged Partnerships between the European Union and its Neighbours”. This book, which is largely based on an international conference held at the College, provides a timely analysis of the EU’s neighbourhood relations. It analyses which policy areas are covered, the reasons why a specific institutional arrangement has been chosen, the major advantages and shortcomings for both sides and how effectively the privileged partnerships have worked in practice. Drawing on a number of case studies, the book highlights critical junctures and path dependence in the EU’s external relations and examines what general lessons can be drawn regarding privileged partnerships, in particular with a view to the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.