Towards an integrated approach to EU foreign policy? Horizontal spillover across the humanitarian–development and the security–migration interfaces

Abstract

ABSTRACT Combining theoretical insights from works on policy integration and institutional overlap, this article develops a novel analytical framework to account for variations in policy integration in the EU’s external relations. We argue that the greater the level of institutional fit between different areas of the EU’s external relations, the greater the prospects for deepening policy integration through a ‘horizontal spillover’ mechanism. Specifically, we argue that network formation, policy entrepreneurship and political socialisation are key elements of this horizontal spillover mechanism leading towards greater policy integration. Empirically, we explore the relevance of our theoretical claims for the interface between the EU’s development policy and its humanitarian aid policy and between the CSDP and external migration policy in the AFSJ domain. Whilst both policy interfaces have been marked by growing functional pressures, we show that differences in institutional fit have resulted in varying degrees of progress in policy integration.