This chapter analyses the role of the European Parliament in the foreign policy of the European Union and it focuses particularly upon interregional cooperation. Historically, many national parliaments have only dealt with foreign policy issues when faced with political transformation (internationalisation, Europeanisation, regional integration). By contrast, the European Parliament began devoting attention to foreign policy and external relations early on in its existence, in part because its legislative and accountability powers were limited. As constituents of a parliamentary assembly that was involved in a regionalisation process, the members of the European Parliament immediately began promoting regional integration in other continents and also interregional cooperation. These initiatives were particularly marked in the Latin American case.
