ABSTRACT
The conclusion argues that small states face different challenges in different institutions, which impacts their strategies. Prioritization of specific goals and coalition building can be effective in the Council. By contrast, in the European Parliament the large number of committees requires small-state MEPs to spread out rather than specialize. However, as a result, they are well connected and deemed relatively influential within the EP. Finally, small states tend to propose more female Commissioners, potentially due to the advantages that come with an ability to meet the demand for female politicians. The chapters on the EU's foreign and security policies confirm these findings: small states can have influence in EU policy-making and can create situations where their needs are met. They are most likely to succeed when they build foreign policy coalitions, when they anticipate major economic developments and when they manage to acquire a high level of expertise in a policy area. However, the case studies also show that there is a risk of small states becoming policy-takes in cases where they cannot provide leadership in terms of ideas and expertise and/or fail to build political weight through significant coalitions.
