ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a discussion of the conceptualization of inter-regionalism and how it is inserted into the contemporary global multi-level governance complex. It focuses on the main counterpart regions with which the EU has inter-regional relations—Africa, Asia and Latin America—and the variation in interregionalism across policy areas. The chapter shows how these different approaches to the empirical reality of EU interregionalism speak back to the academic debate on the status of EU interregionalism in the global multi-level governance complex. It suggests a variation in the way the EU conducts its foreign policies towards different counterpart regions and in different policy areas. EU interregionalism with Asia has existed for many years, mainly within the framework of EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dialogue. The EU's priorities towards Latin America are defined in the Commission Communication from 2005 on a 'Stronger Partnership between the European Union and Latin America'.
