Thomas Ramopoulos’s research while affiliated with Center for Strategic and International Studies and other places

This chapter provides an overview of the questions pertaining to the international legal personality and external powers of the Union. It presents and analyses the seminal judgments of the extensive case law of the Court of Justice on the external powers of the Union that span almost fifty years. It thereby explains the distinction between the existence and nature of external powers of the EU as well as the doctrine of implied external powers. Starting from ERTA and Opinion 1/76, the chapter brings together this case law, discusses its latest codification in the EU Treaties with the Treaty of Lisbon, and how this has been interpreted by the Court in its judgments and Opinions. Lastly, a section is dedicated to the recently highly contested question whether the Union may exercise external powers in areas of shared competence. Answering in the affirmative, the Court further clarified the relationship between Articles 3(2) and 216(1) TFEU.

This chapter deals with the status of international law in the EU legal order under the Lisbon Treaty. It presents in great detail the most important cases of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the incorporation of international agreements and their rank in the domestic legal order. The origins and current practice of the doctrine of direct effect for specific provisions in an international agreement are explained. Moreover, the chapter contains an assessment of the famous ECJ Kadi -jurisprudence on the significance of human rights in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on counter-terrorism. Finally, it also shows with concrete examples how the Court of Justice developed the status of customary international law in the EU.

This chapter provides an overview of the historical evolution and the post-Lisbon institutional and legal characteristics of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Specific attention is paid to the specificity and sui generis nature of the CFSP as an EU competence and to the instruments at the disposal of the EU under this policy. The limited but growing jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in CFSP is illustrated with recent case law. The legal and institutional underpinnings of the CSDP are discussed, as well as its post-Lisbon dynamics, notably operations, international agreements, permanent structured cooperation, and mutual assistance.

This chapter deals with the status of international agreements of EU Member States in the EU legal order. With reference to relevant European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law, it provides a useful overview of different categories. Agreements concluded between Member States with third States before EU membership enjoy certain protection under Article 351 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) whereas agreements concluded during EU membership need to fully comply with EU law. The chapter also discusses inter-se agreements between Member States alone. Again, it recalls the relevant case law, according to which such agreements may either become inapplicable or be extended to benefit all EU citizens. The chapter exemplifies this issue with reference to the newest jurisprudence of the Court in the Achmea case on intra-EU investment agreements.

This chapter presents the rules under EU law and international law that enable the EU to participate in the work of other international organizations. It explains the process of the EU becoming and acting as a full member in an international body composed of States, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) or the World Trade Organization (WTO). When full membership is legally not possible, the EU is often granted the status of an observer. In this regard, the chapter presents pertinent examples from the UN and its specialized organizations. It puts particular emphasis on recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law, including Germany v Council (‘ OTIF I ’), where the Court underlined that the presentation of common EU positions is necessary in international organizations, even if the EU is not a full member thereof and has not legislated in the entire field of action covered by that organization.

This chapter provides an overview of the historical evolution and contemporary legal framework of the EU’s common commercial policy (CCP). A structured presentation of the most important European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law in the field recalls the scope and objectives of the CCP. Specific attention is paid to the unilateral regulation of trade, that is, the EU’s regulations on imports (including trade defence) and exports, services, intellectual property, and foreign direct investment. The chapter also presents the trade barriers and enforcement regulations in their context. Finally, it provides an outline of the main points in the EU’s Free Trade and Investment Agreements with third countries.

This chapter provides an overview of the development of the phenomenon of mixed agreements. It explains the legal and political reasons for the emergence and perseverance of mixed agreements. The chapter also analyses the legal limits to the use of mixed agreements, and discusses salient legal issues that arise with regard to their signature, conclusion, implementation, and interpretation. The above are introduced in the context of specific bilateral and multilateral mixed agreements. References and excerpts from the latest jurisprudential developments in this area feature prominently in the chapter.

This chapter recalls how the EU started to become engaged in the international protection of the environment. It explains in detail the ECJ case law on the choice of legal basis under EU law when an international agreement contains both aspects of commercial policy and environmental protection. It also analyses the internal struggle between the EU institutions on how to conduct international environmental negotiations. The chapter includes a case study about the EU’s role in combating climate change and underlines the important contribution of the EU in the operation of numerous international environmental conventions.

This chapter provides an overview of the cooperation policies of the Union beyond trade. In particular, it focuses on the neighbourhood policy, development cooperation and cooperation with developed countries, and humanitarian aid. It presents and analyses their development in time and the case law of the Court of Justice on their nature and scope, situating them within the overall scheme of the Treaties. It further examines the tools at the disposal of the Union to implement them. These comprise unilateral thematic and geographic instruments and the proposed Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument that is to apply from 2021 to 2027. They further include international agreements concluded with third countries.

This chapter provides an overview of the treaty-making procedures in the European Union. It explains the historical evolution of primary law in the field and gives examples for each step under Article 218 TFEU (negotiation, signature, provisional application, and conclusion). Excerpts of European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law illustrate how these provisions are interpreted and applied in practice. The chapter also discusses the principles covering suspension and termination of EU agreements, and the ever more important system that allows the EU to contribute to the adoption of international secondary law under Article 218, paragraph 9 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). A final section describes EU practice for adopting non-legally binding instruments and reproduces the new guidance of December 2017 issued by the Council and the Commission in this respect after the ECJ’s judgment in the case relating to the EU–Swiss Memorandum of Understanding.