ABSTRACT
The European Union has been committed to effective multilateralism and global governance since early 1970s. It sought and secured membership in the G7 in 1977. Since then, the EU’s role in economic summitry has grown substantially. Given its singular importance, the unique nature of its participation in the G8, and its increasing prominence there, the EU provides ‘an excellent case study for the examination of the [European Union’s] increasingly defined presence in the international arena’ (Hainsworth 1990). 1
