East-North-South: Coalition-Building in the Council before and after Enlargement

Abstract

Naurin and Lindahl look at the negotiation process between initial bargaining positions and final votes. They interviewed a large number of negotiators from all member states in 2003 and 2006, respectively, inquiring about whom those negotiators most often cooperate with in order to develop a common position. They find that the Nortz-South dimension predominated in 2003, and is evident also in the enlarged EU. In the latter case, however, the longitude (North-South) dimension has been complemented by a latitude (East-West) one. The big states (including the famous Franco-German axis) are clearly at the centre.