The EU Performance in Relation to Palestine’s Membership of UNESCO

This chapter explores the European Union’s (EU’s) post-Lisbon performance at the United Nations (UN), focusing on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) 31 October 2011 decision to grant Palestine membership. Falling into two parts, it shows that the EU scores better for output than for outcome and impact, and better for outcome than for impact. Part 1 reviews the literature on the EU’s functioning at UNESCO and looks into the dynamics of policy-formation, coordination and representation. Part 2 explores the EU’s involvement in the decision mentioned above, focusing on output, outcome and impact. The conclusion summarises the main findings and explores the way forward.