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The paper analyzes the European Union's global role as a main international actor on the basis of the components of power, the dimensions of global governance and its prospects as a regional project to manage to have a reading of their participation in the future international system. Within these future prospects, the role of the soft power of the EU will be highlighted as a civilian and normative power in global governance with new actors, interests and divergent values. This work is based on the hypothesis that the relational shift of power in international society is causing geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics conflicting with approaches to an effective multilateralism. Then the paper tries to answer or at least tries to shed some light on questions such as: Can the EU maintain its relevance as an international player in this changing world? Will it maintain relevance in their values and interests as a regional project? Should European international advocacy strategy be based simply on the field of soft power and effective multilateralism? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The member States of Mercosur are currently negotiating a Trade Agreement with the EU, as part of the process towards a comprehensive bi-regional Association Agreement. In 2016, the EU and Mercosur members exchanged offers, followed by a negotiation round. The next round will be held in October 2017; while awaiting for political developments, it is worth anticipating some challenges to come, especially from a legal perspective. Both actors have a multilayered system for decision-making, requiring the consensus of a multiplicity of governmental actors and thus enabling them to convey. Furthermore, current dialogues consider a broad range of issues, which were also covered by different EU's agreements with other trading partners. These agreements received critiques from the civil society, which are worth to reflect upon, considering that the trade agreement is due to impact the general negotiation for the bi-regional Association Agreement. The paper develops this reflection from a twofold perspective: that of the institutional nature of EU and Mercosur and that of the democratic deficit in the overall negotiation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to contribute to the understanding of humanitarian aid from the European Union (EU), from the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, starting from an analysis of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96l, the European Consensus on humanitarian aid from the European Union (effective 2008) and article 214 TFEU of the Treaty of Lisbon. This paper addresses the EU's challenges in providing independent humanitarian aid when responding to international emergencies, while seeking to coordinate and enhance its foreign policy coherence; it also examines how the Union reconciles these conflicting objectives. In particular, it examines how EU development cooperation policy and EU aid policy, common foreign and security policy, and foreign policy interact. Finally, it is argued in the concluding remarks that although humanitarian aid has been incorporated into the Lisbon Treaty as a further policy of its external action, it must be independent, as it is based on international solidarity, and not on the principles applicable to other policies of external action, making it difficult to establish positive synergies with the other policies of the EU's external action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Central Bank (ECB) has received a lot of criticism for its too little, too late performance to ease market pressures during the economic crisis. At the same time, the ECB and the Federal Reserve (Fed) have managed the new economic realities that have emerged in the international context differently. Despite the criticisms, the European Central Bank is the European Union institution that has assumed more control due to the new model of economic governance of the EU. Why did the Federal Reserve act so nimbly and quickly to calm the markets, while the ECB was so cautious in managing monetary policy? The aim of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of the management of interest rates and other monetary policy measures undertaken by the Central Bank and the Federal Reserve during the economic crisis, as well as to understand the changes in the context of the ECB and the emergence of its authority within the European Union's economic governance model since 2011. Thus, in order to carry out a scrupulous exposition, we will also limit the time frame of this study to the 2007-2014 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the changes occurred since the VI EU-LAC Summit, in Madrid in May 2010, on the relationship between the European Union and Latin America. A change continued with the Celac-EU Summit, held in January 2013, which presents evidence of bi-regional strategy and the full import of the most significant commitments to build that relationship: regional integration and social cohesion. Latin America and the European Union should strengthen their bond and extrapolate on other institutions and settings of the current post-Cold War geopolitical order. A scenario where they share views and concerns and whose response, in any case, must come from a joint position and shared perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the European Union's global role as a main international actor on the basis of the components of power, the dimensions of global governance and its prospects as a regional project to manage to have a reading of their participation in the future international system. Within these future prospects, the role of the soft power of the EU will be highlighted as a civilian and normative power in global governance with new actors, interests and divergent values. his work is based on the hypothesis that the relational shift of power in international society is causing geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics conflicting with approaches to an effective multilateralism. hen the paper tries to answer or at least tries to shed some light on questions such as: Can the EU maintain its relevance as an international player in this changing world? Will it maintain relevance in their values and interests as a regional project? Should European international advocacy strategy be based simply on the field of soft power and effective multilateralism? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the changes occurred since the vi EU-LAC Summit, in Madrid in May 2010, on the relationship between the European Union and Latin America. A change continued with the CELAC-UE Summit, held in January 2013, which presents evidence of bi-regional strategy and the full import of the most significant commitments to build that relationship: regional integration and social cohesion. Latin America and the European Union should strengthen their bond and extrapolate on other institutions and settings of the current post-Cold War geopolitical order. A scenario where they share views and concerns and whose response, in any case, must come from a joint position and shared perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]