Governance in South American Integration: Insights and Encouragement from the European Union. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 7 No. 5 April 2007

Kanner, Aimee. (2007) Governance in South American Integration: Insights and Encouragement from the European Union. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 7 No. 5 April 2007.

Abstract

[From the introduction]. In order to strengthen regional integration in the EU, the European Commission, since 2000, has encouraged improving European governance which became one of the Commission’s strategic objectives. Thus, for the past seven years the Commission has been on a constant quest to improve methods of governance not just in its own daily practices but also in its external affairs. The EU has made the adoption of good governance initiatives a requirement for the allocation of its external regional development funding. With a conceptual framework based on governance, this paper will address to what extent and in what forms the EU, the CAN, and MERCOSUR have adopted practices of good governance, specifically those related to nonhierarchical governance. This qualitative analysis is based on a comprehensive review of original language primary documents from all of these regional organizations, hundreds of news articles, and official speeches. I argue that since 2005 the CAN and MERCOSUR have initiated but not consolidated exercises of good governance, particularly in the social, environmental, and cultural competences.