Is Being Consistently Inconsistent, Being Consistent?

Duke, Simon (2000) Is Being Consistently Inconsistent, Being Consistent? EIPASCOPE, 2000 (1). pp. 1-2.

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Abstract

EIPA’s research project on consistency in the EU’s external relations takes as its departure point the call in the TEU for ‘consistency of its external activities as a whole in the context of its external relations, security, economic and development policies.’ The consistency refrain appears not only overtly but also implicitly as in, for example, the Union’s objective to assert ‘its identity on the international scene.’ What does consistency mean? Consistency is considered to be coordinated behaviour based on agreements amongst the Union and its Members States, where comparable and compatible methods are employed in pursuit of a single objective which results in an uncontradictory policy. In accordance with the literature in the field, consistency is considered in its vertical and horizontal manifestations: vertical consistency considers relations between the Member States and the Union, while horizontal consistency applies to relations between the external relations apparatus of the Union.

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