Panagiotis Delimatsis & Angelos Dimopoulos

Tilburg, 29.8.2012
 Laeken EC (2001)
The EU as ‘a power wanting to change the course of
world affairs in such a way as to benefit not just the
rich countries but also the poorest. A power seeking to
set globalization within a moral framework, in other
words to anchor it in solidarity and sustainable
development’

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 From internal to external:
The recipe of European integration
 Achieving peace through economic integration
 The economic unification and increasing interdependence of the
Member States
 Considerable GDP growth = prosperity
 Negative integration: the abolition of commercial obstacles / The
role of the Court
 Positive integration (common policies)
 Community legislator; QMV; double majority after Lisbon
 Restoring peace and creating common policies
 EMU; CCP; CFSP; CDP
 Political union? The EU as a dynamic experiment

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 From internal to external:
The EU as an autonomous legal order
• ECJ inCosta c. ENEL, 1964: the EEC creates its own
legal system
– The primacy of EU law
– The direct effect of EU law
– The evolution of EU law
• What’s the fuss about?
– Benchmark to compare with
• Public international law
• National law

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 The Maastricht Treaty
 3-pillar structure, entered into force in November
1993
 The EC (economic and monetary integration, EMU)
 Variable geometry
 CFSP: Common Foreign and Security Policy
 Freedom, Security and Justice

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 Post-Maastricht
 The enlargement process
 Europe Agreements –Go East!
 The Stabilisation and Association Process with western Balkans
 The Constitutional Treaty
 Nice; Laeken
 Objectives
 Better delineate the competences between the EU and the MS
 What to do with the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

 Integrate the national parliaments into the European edifice

 Rejection FR, NL, IE

 Agreement on having a simplified treaty

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 The Treaty of Lisbon and
external relations
 Instead of constitution, amendments to existing
treaties
 Two-fold objective
 Improve the efficiency of institutions
 Enhance their democratic functioning (Art 9ff TEU)
 Abandoning the 3-pillar structure – The European
Union succeeds and replaces the Community (Art 1
TEU)
 The CFSP remains separate from other external policies
 New institutions, new objectives
 Common legal framework?
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 The objectives of EU external
relations
 Article. 3 TEU:
1. The Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-
being of its peoples

5. In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall uphold
and promote its values and interests and contribute to the
protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security,
the sustainable development of the Earth, solidarity and
mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication
of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular
the rights of the child, as well as to the strict observance and
the development of international law, including respect for the
principles of the United Nations Charter.

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 The objectives of EU external
relations
GENERAL PROVISIONS ON THE UNION'S EXTERNAL ACTION
Article 21
1. The Union's action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles
which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and
which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the
universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect
for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

The Union shall seek to develop relations and build partnerships with third
countries, and international, regional or global organisations which share the
principles referred to in the first subparagraph. It shall promote multilateral
solutions to common problems, in particular in the framework of the United
Nations.

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 The objectives of EU external
2.
relations
The Union shall define and pursue common policies and actions, and shall work for a high
degree of cooperation in all fields of international relations, in order to:
(a) safeguard its values, fundamental interests, security, independence and integrity;
(b) consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of
international law;
(c) preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security, in accordance with
the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, with the principles of the Helsinki
Final Act and with the aims of the Charter of Paris, including those relating to external
borders;
(d) foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing
countries, with the primary aim of eradicating poverty;
(e) encourage the integration of all countries into the world economy, including through the
progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade;
(f) help develop international measures to preserve and improve the quality of the
environment and the sustainable management of global natural resources, in order to ensure
sustainable development;
(g) assist populations, countries and regions confronting natural or man-made disasters; and
(h) promote an international system based on stronger multilateral cooperation and good
global governance.

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 The objectives of EU external
relations
3. The Union shall respect the principles and pursue the
objectives set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 in the development
and implementation of the different areas of the Union's
external action covered by this Title and by Part Five of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and of
the external aspects of its other policies. The Union shall
ensure consistency between the different areas of its
external action and between these and its other policies.
The Council and the Commission, assisted by the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, shall ensure that consistency and shall
cooperate to that effect.

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The objectives of EU external action
3:5 TEU 21:1 TEU
 Contribution to  Promoting European values :
 peace;  Democracy;
 security;  Rule of law;
 Sustainable development;  Universality and
 Solidarity and mutual indivisibility of human
respect; rights;
 Free and fair trade;  Human dignity;
 Eradicating poverty and  Equality and solidarity;
protecting human rights  Respect of IL

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The institutions in external relations
The ‘classic’ ones:
 European Commission
 Council
 European Parliament

The ‘new’ ones:

 European Council
 High Representative for foreign affairs and security
policy
 European External Action Service
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Features of the new institutions
President of the European Council (15:5 TEU)
 Stable presidency, full-time
 Term of 21/2 years (renewable once)
 Elected by the Council (QMV)
 Representing the EU at the international
scene
 Chair and coordinate activities within the
European Council
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The High Representative of the EU
Art 18 TEU
 5-year term
 Elected by the EC (QMV) and endorsed by the EP (17:7
TEU)
 Act ‘as mandated by the Council’ (18:2) – Vice-president of
the Commission and president of the Foreign Affairs
Council
 Merge the posts of HR CFSP and Commissioner RELEX
 Aided by European External Action Service (Art. 27:3 TEU)
 Competences: 24:2; 26:3; 27; 30
 Art. 21.3 TEU: Together with the Com and the Council, they
shall ensure the coherence of external action
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The new institutional scheme
 Absence: limiting EU’s capacity of influence; not
expressing its position with one voice
 Enhance its bargaining power
 Become more efficient
 A reliable and visible partner

BUT…
 Is it working in practice?

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The EU as a subject of international
law
The legal personality of the EU

 The Union, a single entity with a single legal personality

merger of pillars
 Capacity to conclude agreements (Art 37 TEU re: CFSP,
Article 216 TFEU re: all other matters)), notably become a
contracting party or a member of an international
organisation
 Legal personality (Art. 47 TEU)
 Capacity to act similar to states/ international organizations/
sui generis?

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 International recognition of the EU
 1988 by the Soviet Bloc
 EC and MS recognize the ex-Yugoslav republics
(1991) and set the conditions for the recognition of
an independent Montenegro (2006)
 Active in several fora
 Original member of WTO
 IMF, WB, ISO
 G8; G20

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Active and passive representation of the EU
 More than 130 Delegations globally
 Cooperation with MS missions
 EU Missions in international organizations
(Geneva, NY, Paris, Rome, Vienna)
 Diplomatic missions of countries and
international organizations in Brussels
 Post-Lisbon: High Representative for foreign
affairs and security policy + a European External
Action Service (Art. 27 TEU) replaced all previous
delegations
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 The relationship between
the Union and its Member States:
A question of competences
 Exclusive competence
 Only the Union can act: the EU is represented by the
Commission eg common commercial policy
 Shared competence
 Rules for determining when and how the Union and/or
the Member states can act
 Representation: various formulae: usually a mixed
delegation is chosen by the Commission and the MS

 Antagonism or complementarity?
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Thank you for your attention!
p.delimatsis@uvt.nl
a.dimopoulos@uvt.nl

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