External Differentiated Integration

The emergence of new modes of governance in the EU and evolving relations with neighbouring countries below the threshold of EU membership have redefined the boundaries of European integration, challenging traditional distinctions between who is “in” and “out.” While intergovernmental association agreements define the overarching frame of EU-third-country relations, including the latter&s;s scope of commitment to the EU acquis, an important layer of organizational cooperation has developed at the transgovernmental, inter-administrative level. EU decentralized agencies play a key role in this regard, as they allow associated countries organizational participation in EU structures that are excluded in the EU&s;s central bodies. This chapter provides a multilevel taxonomy of external differentiated integration, highlighting hitherto underexplored spaces of EU and third-country influence below the threshold of membership.