The European Union’s ‘Memberness’ in Fora of Global Economic Governance

Abstract The European Union ( EU ) has, reinforced by the Lisbon Treaty, long been pursuing an improved position in international organisations. Yet, with a few exceptions, it mainly still holds an observer status. This article critically examines the ‘membership myth’ prevalent in the policy and scholarly discourse that the EU ’s external representation would be more effective if the Union itself was a full member and/or if (also) all its Member States joined. It asks to what extent membership indeed makes a difference for effective external representation in multilateral fora. Based on case studies from the field of global economic governance, it challenges the myth and the rights-based focus on formal status. It then expands on Hofmann and colleagues’ capacity-based concept of ‘memberness’ as an important complementary perspective and a promising avenue for further research by applying it to the EU and by elaborating additional types of memberness.