Promoting Cohesion and Consistency in EU Foreign Policy: The European Parliament and the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Abstract:In the literature dealing with parliamentary diplomacy, the role that the European Parliament (EP) can play in the formation and conduct of European Union (EU) foreign policy is intensively studied. Yet analyses thus far have not dealt with how the EP can urge the EU and its member states to ensure foreign policy coherence. The essay aims to fill this gap. It draws on empirical data from the EP’s approach toward the Israel-Palestine conflict and aims to identify the ways the EP, although not directly and officially in charge of ensuring EU coherence, can contribute to promoting coherence in the EU’s foreign policy.