Abstract

The role of small member states in EU foreign policy is increasingly being challenged, especially in view of the reforms being proposed to make the EU more effective as an international actor. These reforms, if adopted, will require the small Central and Eastern European member states, such as Bulgaria, to rethink their old foreign-policy strategies and practices. Instead of band-wagoning and balancing conflicting interests, these small member states will have to learn to be more proactive, to build their reputations and to form alliances if they want to continue to have any influence on EU foreign policy. These issues are discussed in the light of the EU sanctions adopted against Russia in the aftermath of the Ukrainian–Russian conflict of 2014.

Highlights

  • Cases of obstruction of EU foreign-policy decisions by EU member states, large or small, are not uncommon in this field, where the unanimity rule applies

  • The issue of the sanctions imposed on Russia in the aftermath of the Ukrainian crisis in March 2014 provides a good case study of the limitations of EU foreign policy, where decisions are adopted on the basis of unanimity

  • The EU’s imposition of sanctions on Russia offers a good case study of the limitations of EU foreign policy, where decisions are made on the basis of unanimity

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Summary

Introduction

Cases of obstruction of EU foreign-policy decisions by EU member states, large or small, are not uncommon in this field, where the unanimity rule applies. Affect the small Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states, such as Bulgaria, even more than other small member states Such proposals would require these countries to change their existing foreign-policy practices of great-power dependency and band-wagoning in order to maintain their influence on EU decisions. Without denying the valuable insights provided by realist perspectives and smallstate literature, some authors have proposed relying on a governance approach to understand the role of small states in EU foreign policy Such an approach, according to them, has the advantage of not positing materially powerful actors as the only ones able to influence EU foreign policy. While the older small member states possess a huge amount of experience, extensive networks and expertise, the newer ones tend to be lacking in most of these assets

EU sanctions and the small CEE member states
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