The European Union’s External Action: Coherence in European Union Foreign Policy Despite Separate Legal Orders?

Abstract

The European Union (EU)’s external action is a policy area which continues to be split between an intergovernmental (Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP) and a supranational legal regime. Despite this dualism of legal orders the authors of the Lisbon Treaty envisage nevertheless a coherent EU foreign policy. This article will take a look at the reforms brought about by the Lisbon Treaty and will examine the separate legal orders and in particular the demarcation line drawn by Article 40 TEU, which has not been applied by the European Court of Justice yet. It will also analyse legal principles in the Treaties which promote coherence, the role of the High Representative (HR/VP) in securing coherence and the EU’s external representation. This article argues that despite the continuing difficulties the Lisbon Treaty has made the coherence of the EU’s external action more likely.