Forging Unity: European Commission Leadership in the Brexit Negotiations
本文通过分析欧盟委员会脱欧谈判团队（Task Force 50）的行为，解释了欧盟在英国脱欧谈判中保持高度团结的原因，发现委员会通过议程设置、协调交易和透明咨询等方式发挥了关键领导作用，挑战了欧盟日益走向政府间主义的传统观点。
This article explains why the European Union has remained strikingly cohesive during the Brexit withdrawal negotiations by focussing on the role played by its negotiator: the European Commission''s Task Force 50. The analysis demonstrates that the Task Force 50 set out to forge unity among the EU27 by exercising both subtle instrumental and direct political leadership. The Commission significantly influenced the outcome of the negotiations by shaping the agenda and process, brokering deals, and ultimately achieving a withdrawal agreement that all member states signed up to. Its transparent and consultative behaviour generated trust among member states, which allowed the Commission to play such a prominent role. These findings challenge the prevailing view that the EU has become increasingly intergovernmental at expense of the Commission. Drawing on original interviews, the article substantiates this argument by tracing the Commission's leadership activities in the run-up to and throughout the withdrawal negotiations (2016-20).