This talk examines the role of international institutions (IIs) as evidence providers in EU policymaking. Drawing on a large-scale citation analysis of over 115,000 EU policy documents published between 2000 and 2024, we find that while EU institutions predominantly cite themselves, IIs consistently emerge as the most frequently referenced external actors, surpassing think tanks, academic institutions, and national governments. This pattern of II citation has remained remarkably stable over the past two and a half decades and spans a wide array of policy domains. However, IIs with strong economic regulatory mandates—particularly the OECD, IMF, and World Bank—dominate references, across policy areas and institutions. These institutions function not as peripheral observers but as epistemic anchors within the EU’s policymaking ecosystem.

Our results suggest that IIs play a central, underappreciated role in shaping the EU policy process. They highlight a structurally embedded relationship between the EU and IIs, with implications for how legitimacy, expertise, and authority are negotiated in European policymaking. By tracing citation patterns, this talk contributes to debates on the evolving relationship between the EU and global governance institutions, evidence-based policymaking, and expert information diffusion.

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