The European Union’s Role in Global Health Diplomacy - Three World Health Organization Treaties in the Light of a Changing EU Foreign Policy

Abstract

The EU’s behavior as a diplomatic actor within the UN-system will be at the center of this thesis, focusing on three separate, yet connected cases in the setting of the World Health Organization (WHO). The chosen case studies for this thesis are the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the FCTC Protocol on Eliminating Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, and the process of regulating substandard/spurious/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit medical products (SSFFC). Far too often topics within the WHO, Global Fund and United Nations Aids (UNAIDS) cluster are exclusively considered from a public health perspective. In contrast, political science scholars are concerned with the security aspects of foreign policy when assessing EU Foreign Policy. Applying an international relations and diplomacy perspective to global health negotiations, such as the FCTC and SSFFC, displays these issues as they really are, not only a matter of health or trade, but also of substantial political interest.