The Meso Level: Means of Interaction between EU and International Law

Abstract

The EU is bound by international law, in that when it adopts an act it shall observe international law ‘in its entirety, including customary international law, which is binding upon the institutions of the European union’.1 This commitment is expressed in Article 3(5) of the Treaty of European Union (TEU), which provides that ‘the EU shall uphold and promote … the strict observance and the development of international law’. Yet, despite the periodic treaty revision, EU law is still not explicit about the relationship between international law and EU law. It also omits to provide an account regarding the incorporation and effect of international law upon the EU legal order. The EU Treaties merely highlight the binding character of international treaties upon the Member States,2 and charge them (or at least the founding Member States) with the task of taking the necessary steps to eliminate any incompatibilities between international agreements signed before 1958 and the EU Treaties.3 In recent years, the CJEU has clarified the effect of international treaties upon the EU legal order and has adopted a dualist approach. While forming an integral part of EU law, international agreements are only binding on private individuals by virtue of an act of an EU institution (ie a decision or regulation formally concluding the agreement in question).4