Nafta vs eu

Salvador de Madariaga Institute

A Comparative Perspective between the European Union and NAFTA

-Alejandro Chanona

Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 3 No. 5 August 2003

The Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series
The Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series is produced by the Jean Monnet Chair of the University of Miami, in cooperation with the Miami European Union Center.These monographic papers address issues relevant to the ongoing European Convention which will conclude in the Spring of 2003. The purpose of this Convention is to submit proposals for a new framework and process of restructuring the European Union. While the European Union has been successful in many areas of integration for over fifty years, the European Union must take more modern challengesand concerns into consideration in an effort to continue to meet its objectives at home and abroad. The main issues of this Convention are Europe’s role in the international community, the concerns of the European citizens, and the impending enlargement process. In order for efficiency and progress to prevail, the institutions and decision-making processes must be revamped without jeopardizingthe founding principles of this organization. During the Convention proceedings, the Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Papers will attempt to provide not only concrete information on current Convention issues but also analyze various aspects of and actors involved in this unprecedented event. The following is a list of tentative topics for this series:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Thechallenges of the Convention: the ability to govern a supranational Europe or the return to intergovernmental cooperation? How will the member states figure in the framework of the Convention? The necessity to maintain a community method in a wider Europe. Is it possible for the member states to jeopardize the results of the Convention? The member states against Europe: the pressures on and warnings tothe Convention by the European capitals. Is it possible that the Convention will be a failure? The effects on European integration. Similarities and differences between the European Convention and the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. The role of a politically and economically integrated Europe in the governance of the world. How important is European integration to the United States today? Thefailure of a necessary partnership? Do the United States and the European Union necessarily have to understand each other? Under what conditions? Is it possible to conceive a strategic partnership between the United States, the European Union and Russia? Russia: a member of the European Union? Who would be interested in this association? Jean Monnet Chair Staff: Joaquín Roy (Director) Aimee Kanner(Editor) Roberto Domínguez (Research Assistant) Nouray Ibryamova (Research Assistant) Mariela Arenas (Research Assistant)

Miami European Union Center University of Miami 1531 Brescia Avenue Coral Gables, FL 33146-3010 Phone: 305-284-3266; Fax: 305-284-4875 E-Mail: jroy@miami.edu Webs: www.miami.edu/international-studies/euc www.euroy.org; www.miamieuc.org

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A Comparative Perspectivebetween the European Union and NAFTA

Alejandro Chanona∗

The Jean Monnet Chair University of Miami Miami, Florida August 2003

Alejandro Chanona (B.A. in International Relations, UNAM, M.A. in Western European Politics, U. of Essex, U.K., Ph.D. in Government, U. of Essex). He is currently the Founding Director of the Center of European Studies at the National University of Mexico (FCPyS/UNAM).He is Senior Lecturer in Comparative Regionalisms at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of the UNAM. He has published articles on the EU and NAFTA in different journals. His most recent book is on Europa en Transformación; UNAM 2000, co-edited with Roberto Domínguez. Recent articles: “Federalismo, regionalismo y el principio de subsidiariedad en la Unión Europea,” revista Relaciones...