EU External Relations Law

by Piet Eeckhout

Overview

The law of the external relations of the European Union is a subject of great importance. The EU institutions have developed an extensive practice in this area, by concluding many international agreements, by participating in the work of international organizations, and by legislating and regulating on matters of external relations. It is a practice giving rise to many legal problems and questions, as evidenced by the substantial and fast expanding body of case-law in this area from the EU Courts. These problems and questions are often of constitutional significance, and the external relations law of the EU therefore occupies an important place in the overall constitutional and institutional development of the EU.

This volume examines the legal foundations of the EU's external relations. It focuses on the EU's external competences and objectives; on the instruments, principles, and actors of external policies; and on the legal effects of international agreements and international law. It analyzes a number of key external policies, particularly in the fields of trade and foreign policy.

Substantially updated to take into account recent case law, it also incorporates an examination of the changes made by the Lisbon Treaty. This new edition, formerly published as External Relations of the European Union: Legal and Constitutional Foundations, is an invaluable asset to those studying and working in the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199659951
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2012
Series:	Oxford European Union Law Library
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Piet Eeckhout is Professor of Law and King's College London. He is Director of the Centre of European Law at King's, and co-editor of the Yearbook of European Law. He also teaches at the College of Europe, Bruges and is an associate academic member of Matrix Chambers, London.

Table of Contents

1. IntroductionConstitutional Foundations: Powers and Objectives2. Competence in matters of commercial policy3. The doctrine of implied powers4. Express and implied competences under the TFEU5. Competence to conduct a Common Foreign and Security PolicyInternational Foundations: Treaties and International Law6. The life cycle of international agreements7. Mixed external action and membership of international organizations8. The courts and international agreements9. The legal effects of international lawPolicies10. Common commercial policy11. Common Foreign and Security Policy12. Sanctions policy13. Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Review(s) from previous edition
"Piet Eeckhout's book will clearly be a central text for any course in the topical and increasingly popular area of the European Union's external relations law. It will be essential reading for government negotiators within and without the European Union, for practitioners and litigators as well as for students of international relations and of European law.
—Eileen Denza, Common Market Law Review

"Original in its structure, thorough in its coverage and sophisticated in its legal analysis, this book is required reading not only for all those interested in EU external relations law but also in EU constitutional law in general."
—Miguel Poiares Maduro, Professor of European Law, European University Institut

"A brilliant account of the European Union's external relations, and a "must" for everybody interested in the subject."
—Dr Robert Schuetze, Reader, Durham Law School

"Piet Eeckhout's long awaited new edition of his brilliant book offers arguably the best available comprehensive analysis of the external action of the European Union. Elegantly and accurately argued, this is a genuinely enlightening book that enriches our understanding not only of the external relations of the European Union but of EU Law itself, including a bright look at the traditional issues and a learned discussion of recent controversial ones, such as constitutionalism and legal pluralism or international economic sanctions against terrorism." —Irene Blázquez Navarro, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, Autónoma University of Madrid

"Understanding EU external relations means understanding a great deal about the EU itself. Professor Piet Eeckhout's book on the legal and constitutional foundations of EU external relations has become a standard work on the subject. It is highly useful for both practitioners, academics and students. The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon underlines the timeliness of this new revised edition."
—Allan Rosas, Judge at the European Court of Justice

"The first edition of Professor Eeckhout's study on the External Relations of the European Union has proven to be a most valuable tool for the legal practitioner active in this field. Through insightful analyses of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice it offers solid ground for a better understanding of the effects of international law on EU law, as well as the effects of the inter-play between the member states and the EU institutions on the international arena. A new edition, taking the effects of the Lisbon Treaty into account, is a welcome addition to the literature on this subject."
—Anna Falk, Director Legal Secretariat, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm

"Serious students of EU Law must be pleased to see a new updated edition of Professor Eeckhout's book, offering new developments in his subject coupled with his own evolving thinking about those developments."
—John H. Jackson, University Professor of Law, Georgetown University

From the Publisher