Abstract

Whereas the EU is a member of the EBRD, it is only allowed participation as a nonmember in most Bretton Woods institutions and does not have any participation status within ICSID. The EU’s participation in these institutions has not only an institutional and symbolic rationale, but also important policy implications for the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union, development cooperation policy and foreign investment policy. The lack of EU membership as such does not prevent the EU from being influential, directly or through its Member States, whenever it succeeds in a united representation. However, the European bloc’s potential for influence is not fully expressed, as shown by recent proposals to improve the EU’s representation at the IMF Board of Directors.