ABSTRACT
What is intriguing in the EU role on the world environmental stage is that it moved over time 'from being the Vienna laggard to the Kyoto leader'. Depicting the EU's role in international environmental politics is interesting because it rests upon a process of expansion for EU legal competence. For Bretherton and Vogler, 'it was in attempting to solve transboundary atmospheric problems that the Community "cut its teeth" as an international environmental actor'. Apart from the interrelations between the external and internal environmental agenda, some authors underline the interactions between areas of influence. In international environmental politics, the international relations (IR) school approach distinguishes itself by focusing essentially on mobilizing analyses in terms of intergovernmental negotiations, institution-building and regime effectiveness. Over time the EU managed to become a front-runner on environmental issues despite diverging national interests and differing external orientation by member states.
