Introduction

The traditional distinction between domestic and foreign policy has slowly, but inevitably, become more and more blurred. As the former President of the European Parliament (EP) Klaus Hansch maintains, “We have reached the point where foreign policy has in fact become domestic politics”. Although the literature on both the European Parliament and European foreign policy has proliferated, becoming overwhelmingly vast and rich in content and diversity, the areas of research have rarely been combined in a systematic analysis. In order to confirm or refute the argument underlying the Europeanization process, foreign policy, regarded as one of the most sensitive policy areas, is taken as a yardstick. As Fulvio Attina argues, parliamentary debates over topical international issues have symbolic rather than functional connotations, given the limited competence of the EP in foreign policy. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.