Conditionality as an Instrument of European Governance – Cases, Characteristics and Types

Abstract The principle of conditionality has evolved in the European Union from a European foreign policy tool to an instrument of European governance. European conditionality developed as a hard mode of soft governance. This article describes the different forms and cases of using conditionality in European policy so far. Based on this analysis, it elaborates characteristics and patterns of European conditionality policy and tries to distinguish different types of conditionality. This article thus tries to conceptualise the principle, takes a view on the effect and development of the principle in the European Union and finally tries to develop a typology of European conditionality.