Parliamentary diplomacy in practice: The role of the European Parliament delegations in the modernization of the Global Agreement between the European Union and Mexico

Parliaments have become relevant world actors by conducting diplomatic activities on their own. The European Parliament (EP) alone has more than forty standing delegations aiming to maintain and develop its contacts with third countries, regions and organizations globally. Some of these delegations have been established in connection with specific international agreements to which the European Union (EU) is a party. This chapter focuses on one of these EP delegations: the Delegation to the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU-Mexico or D-MX. It aims to shed light on whether and how this delegation has shaped the ongoing modernization process of the EU-Mexico ‘Global Agreement’, announced in 2013. Several studies have examined this modernization from inter-governmental or trade perspectives, yet studies using an inter-parliamentarian one are conspicuously lacking. The present work contributes to fill in this gap in the literature on EU external relations and the EP diplomacy, by providing an in-depth inter-parliamentarian analysis. The findings confirm that the D-MX has been very active in trying to shape the Global Agreement’s modernization process within and beyond the EP institutional framework through a variety of means, showing that EP delegations continue to be important means for the EP to actively participate in the development of EU external relations. Interestingly, in doing so, this delegation also contributed to promote democratic practices in the EU and not only beyond its borders, as it is expected to happen according to the EP internal regulations governing the work of delegations.