What role, if any, does the foreign ministry perform in contemporary world politics? Is the argument that it is in a state of terminal decline accurate or rooted in only partial understandings of its changing character? Foreign Ministries in the European Union explores this theme in the context of the EU where foreign ministry has played a key role in the development of integration but where its role is increasingly questioned. The contributors examine the foreign ministry in thirteen member states and draw conclusions that challenge some conventional wisdoms.

DAVID ALLEN Senior Lecturer in European Studies, Loughborough University, UK
ESKO ANTOLA Jean Monnet Chair, European Studies, University of Turku, Finland
RIK COOLSAET Professor of International Relations, University of Ghent, Belgium
JOSE CORREIA Professor of International Relations, Lusiada University, Lisbon
MAGNUS EKENGREN Senior Lecturer, Swedish National Defence College, Sweden
DUCO HELLEMA Professor in History of International Relations, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
KNUD ERIK JØRGENSEN Senior Lecturer in Political Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark
IGNACIO MOLINA Lecturer in Political Science, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
MELANIE MORISSE-SCHILBACH Research Fellow, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
HANSPETER NEUHOLD Head of the Institute for International Law and International Relations, University of Vienna, Austria
ELFRIEDE REGELSBERGER Research Fellow, Institut fur Europaische Politik, Bonn, Germany
FERNANDO RODRIGO Professor of International Relations, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
BENGT SUNDELIUS Professor of Government, Upsala University, Sweden
BEN TONRA Deputy Director, Dublin European Institute, University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland
ANN-SFIE VOET Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, University of Ghent, Belgium
MARIO ZUCCONI Professor of International Relations, Centre for the Study of International Politics, Rome, Italy

List of Tables and Figures Contributors Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: Gatekeepers and Boundary Spanners: Thinking about Foreign Ministries in the European Union; B.Hocking The Evolving Role of Foreign Ministries in the European Union: The Conduct of European Affairs; D.Spence Austria; H.Neuhold Belgium; R.Coolsae t and A.Voet Denmark; K.E.Jørgensen Finland; E .Antola France; M.Morisse-Schilbach Germany; E.Regelsberger United Kingdom; D.Allen Ireland; B.Tonra Italy; M.Zucconi Netherlands; D.Hellema Portugal; J.Correia Spain; I.Molina and F.Rodrigo Sweden; B.Sundelius and M.Ekengren Conclusion; B.Hocking and D.Spence