The conclusion of treaties

Abstract

In this Part of the book, we consider the Community as an actor on the world stage. We start with its power to enter into treaties. Since the general rule is that the Community has only such powers as are conferred on it (Article 5 [3b] EC), the power to enter into treaties must come from some provision in one of the Community Treaties. As usual, we shall focus on the EC Treaty, but we shall also look at the Euratom Treaty, since it provides an interesting contrast. Legal personality If an entity has legal personality, it is recognized by the law as a person. It can have rights and obligations. It can enter into agreements, incur liability and perform other acts that result in a change in its legal position. If it has international legal personality, it is recognized by international law as a person. International legal personality is therefore an essential precondition for concluding a treaty. The EC and Euratom are separate entities for international purposes. Each has expressly been given legal personality by the treaty which created it. There is no treaty provision expressly giving legal personality to the European Union, which, as we have seen, consists of the two Communities plus certain “policies and forms of co-operation”. Nevertheless, in 2001 it concluded an international agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.