Mainstreaming human rights in the EU : case study of the European neighbourhood policy towards Israel

Abstract

Recent commitment of the European Union to mainstream, i.e. to integrate human rights into its policies and at all levels is a challenge, so far not satisfactorily faced up by the EU. Human rights mainstreaming, however, has a potential to contribute to greater consistency and coherence of EU policies as well as to render more credibility to the EU internationally. Based on rhetoric and actions of the Union, this study analyses integration of human rights into internal Union’s structures and influence of this process on its external relations. Subsequently, the analysis offers a set of principles that should enable the EU to fully exploit the potential entailed in the process of human rights mainstreaming. Viability of such an approach is then tested in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy towards Israel. This case study shows, on the one hand, little progress in the current EU’s mainstreaming efforts and strong political constraints to them, but on the other hand, it demonstrates that there is a wiggle-room for the EU to successfully mainstream human rights into its neighbourhood relations with Israel.