The Paradox of EMU's External Representation: The Case of the G20 and the IMF

This paper revisits claims about the euro area‟s fragmented system of external relations in multilateral settings in the light of the global financial crisis. Focusing on the involvement of the EU and euro area in the G20 and the IMF Executive Board, it offers a case study of European influence during the most turbulent period for the international economic system since the Great Depression. Its central finding is that the euro area has been an influential international actor in these fora in spite, and in some cases because, of its fragmented system of external representation