International regulation and global governance: The EU influential method in times of normativity change

Abstract

This article intends to access the role of governance reforms as a response to the challenges raised by the expansion of normative powers in International and European legal orders. Arguably, traditional legal categories have ceased to adequately reflect the actual stage of economic, social and legal cross-border relations within multiples actors and interests. Changes in International and European law-making are indeed noticeable and result in many regulatory challenges derived from the increased participation of non-state actors. These changes produce impact via soft law instruments, such as recommendations, guidelines, non-binding agreements and reports. Particularly, for decision-making processes involving public interest, questions of legitimacy and accountability are frequently raised in the exercise of authority. In spite of the European Union's particular structure, the challenges concerning the division and allocation of authority at the EU level are common to those reflected at the international level. In the last decades, there has been an “evolution” in the EU Governance, including the development of good and multilevel governance mechanisms. By implementing a deductive method, this article aims to access to what extend the EU institutional response can encourage and inspire the accommodation of the international legal order to the current normativity changes.