Guiding the Exercise of Union's Administrative Power in the EU Wider Neighbourhood: The Rule of Law from Paper to Operationalisation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to establish that the Union is under an obligation to respect the rule of law when it acts externally, and second, to map out the outline of a research agenda on what exactly the rule of law might mean when operationalised in one field of EU external relations characterised by a wide variety of administrative activities i.e. the EU wider neighbourhood (Stabilisation and Association Process and European Neighbourhood Policy). Furthermore, the paper – throughout its development – will try to highlight that the power exercised by the administration in these two policies is significant and often carried out in an unregulated manner; thus the need to research the operationalisation of the rule of law in guiding the Union’s administrative power in these two policies. The paper will proceed as follows. First, it will analyse the obligation to respect the rule of law when the Union acts externally. Secondly, it will provide the reader with a very brief definition of what it means to respect the rule of law in the EU internal legal order. Thirdly, it will explain the choice of the case study. Finally, by using as a starting point the meaning of the rule of law internally the paper will attempt to provide a preliminary operationalisation of what it means to respect the rule of law when the Union develops and implements its action in the wider neighbourhood.