Samenvatting

This article analyses how the European Union functions internally when it participates in international environmental negotiations. It examines the relations between, on the one hand, the European member states and, on the other hand, the EU negotiator who represents the member states around the international negotiation table. Applying a principal-agent model, this article demonstrates, first, that the member states are able to control their negotiator and the way the latter negotiates internationally through the so-called ad locum control mechanisms, being the on the spot EU coordination meetings and the ability of the member states to attend the international negotiations. Second, this article argues that these institutional structures not only have a control function, but also a cooperation function. Finally, the analysis shows that the EU decision-making processes with regard to international environmental negotiations are not only characterized by the principals controlling their agent, but also by the agent keeping its principals under control.