European union leadership in biofuels regulation: Europe as a normative power?

The rapid emergence of the European Union (EU) as a leader in global environmental politics has led many scholars to argue in favour of the EU being a ‘normative power’ in international relations. This paper critically examines the EU's biofuels policy and evaluates whether its attempts to lead by example and shape international practice in this field could support such arguments. Europe's biofuel policies are evaluated through a sustainable development lens, so as to determine the extent to which it has embraced a holistic approach to sustainability. While not dismissing that the identity of the EU is indeed an explanatory factor and that normative intentions may well be regarded as a motivating force, this study argues that an interest-based perspective on international environmental regulation offers a supplementary view of how an actor's preferences for an international regime are shaped. By erecting barriers aimed at shielding its own inefficient domestic biofuels production the EU is in essence placing trade competitiveness and economic growth above environmental protection, thus permitting sustainability concerns to be addressed only in part

Alleviating the consequences of marginalisation? EU aid policy towards the Caribbean ACPs

The article reviews the EU's development policy in relation to the Caribbean members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group. It considers the particular challenges faced by these small economies before assessing their trade and aid relationship with the EU. The article evaluates both the regional assistance programme and the particular experiences of Guyana and Jamaica. Both countries are singled out because of the breadth and depth of their aid relationship with the EU. Finally, the article provides an analysis of EU aid policy within the context of EU-Caribbean relations more generally. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd