Deciphering the European Investment Bank: History, Politics and Economics examines the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's financial institution and the largest lender and borrower among the International Financial Institutions. Since its establishment in 1958, the EIB has developed without becoming front-page news and has remained highly invisible. By putting together 14 chapters that analyze topical and meaningful moments and aspects of the bank, this edited book offers the first comprehensive analysis of its origins and its evolution in terms of its mandate, governance, structures, policy activity, and performance. Written by acknowledged experts from various disciplines, the chapters weave together history, economics, law, and political science to provide a multidisciplinary examination and capture the complexity of the EIB. The book is a timely initiative for understanding the EIB, whose role has been ever increasing for contributing to the recent global economic challenges, including the economic and financial crisis, climate change, and COVID-19 pandemic. The chapters are written at a level which will be comprehensible to undergraduates in economics, history, and international political economy. It will also be a valuable source of reference for academics, policy makers, bankers, and other practitioners interested in regional development banks and their role in the global economy.

This book deals with the historical relationship between international trade liberalisation - one of the backbones of globalisation - and the development of social welfare. In Europe the issue has regularly been at the centre of the political debate for at least two centuries, and still nowadays it continues to inspire decisions of the highest order, as in the recent case of Brexit. Analysing a number of particularly meaningful episodes and moments, the eight chapters of this edited volume provide an overview of how the liberalisation/welfare nexus has been addressed in Europe since the end of the 19th century. Describing the oscillations from phases in which state, non-state and transnational actors saw the two elements as widely conflicting, to others in which more harmonious visions prevailed, the book uncovers the political complexity of the issue and contributes to clarifying its connections with the current economic situation, political balances and general social conditions.

Following its foundation in 1957, the European Economic Community set about establishing itself as a major player on the world stage. One of the first key arenas in which the new organisation began to make its presence felt was the GATT negotiations that took place between 1963 and 1967, known as the Kennedy Round. Through a reconstruction of these on-going negotiations, this book charts the emergence of the EEC as a world trading power and the strategies it adopted that were to have a lasting effect upon European trade policies. As well as proving an important background to the Kennedy Round, the study explains how the EEC/European Union became a powerful actor in international trade, championing a liberal attitude toward the industrial sector but a protectionist one in agriculture. It also addresses the impact of the EEC/EU as regional trading area on the multilateral and global trading system and the EEC/EU trade policy-making. Through an historical analysis of these topics, a much fuller understanding of the actual role and stance of the EEC/EU in world trade is provided, one that not only illuminates events at the time, but provides essential background to the challenges still faced by the international trading system and the World Trade Organization. Based on a wealth of documentary research drawn from European and US archives, this book will be welcomed by all wishing to better understand the complex nature of international trade in an increasingly globalised market place.

Following its foundation in 1957, the European Economic Community set about establishing itself as a major player on the world stage. One of the first key arenas in which the new organisation began to make its presence felt was the GATT negotiations that took place between 1963 and 1967, known as the Kennedy Round. Through a reconstruction of these on-going negotiations, this book charts the emergence of the EEC as a world trading power and the strategies it adopted that were to have a lasting effect upon European trade policies. As well as proving an important background to the Kennedy Round, the study explains how the EEC/European Union became a powerful actor in international trade, championing a liberal attitude toward the industrial sector but a protectionist one in agriculture. It also addresses the impact of the EEC/EU as regional trading area on the multilateral and global trading system and the EEC/EU trade policy-making. Through an historical analysis of these topics, a much fuller understanding of the actual role and stance of the EEC/EU in world trade is provided, one that not only illuminates events at the time, but provides essential background to the challenges still faced by the international trading system and the World Trade Organization. Based on a wealth of documentary research drawn from European and US archives, this book will be welcomed by all wishing to better understand the complex nature of international trade in an increasingly globalised market place.

This book deals with the historical relationship between international trade liberalisation - one of the backbones of globalisation - and the development of social welfare. In Europe the issue has regularly been at the centre of the political debate for at least two centuries, and still nowadays it continues to inspire decisions of the highest order, as in the recent case of Brexit. Analysing a number of particularly meaningful episodes and moments, the eight chapters of this edited volume provide an overview of how the liberalisation/welfare nexus has been addressed in Europe since the end of the 19th century. Describing the oscillations from phases in which state, non-state and transnational actors saw the two elements as widely conflicting, to others in which more harmonious visions prevailed, the book uncovers the political complexity of the issue and contributes to clarifying its connections with the current economic situation, political balances and general social conditions.