European Union External Relations Research Articles

EU resilience in investment protection: a case for revisiting and reinforcing the loyalty principle in EU external relations

Abstract This article explores the concept of European Union (EU) resilience in the area of investment protection and Investor–State dispute settlement. The article adopts a functional approach to investment protection and suggests that reforming dispute settlement procedures in line with current Commission initiatives is key to promoting open strategic autonomy for the EU. Support for those initiatives is however weak, also among EU Member States. It is argued that EU resilience requires new tools for more unity and coherence in external EU action, both generally and for the reform of Investor–State dispute settlement in particular. The tool devised here is an increased loyalty standard coupled with a justification test, based on both a modernized comprehensive reading of loyalty obligations in primary law and the effectiveness principle and rationale as applied in case law. The novel approach promises significantly better results in terms of commanding coherence in external action while fully respecting the principle of conferred powers. It challenges traditional power dynamics, but incorporates a bold vision for external EU action that is truly autonomous and assertive.

The EU’s Turn to ‘Strategic Autonomy’: Leeway for Policy Action and Points of Conflict

Abstract In a world marked by intensifying geopolitical rivalries, supply chain vulnerabilities and disruptive technological change, ensuring ‘strategic autonomy’ is now an avowed goal of numerous European Union (EU) policy initiatives. This article seeks to facilitate an assessment of this ‘policy turn’ by developing a taxonomy of associated objectives and by illuminating points of conformance and conflict with EU and international law. The EU Treaties offer a robust legal basis for a stronger-values orientation in external relations, for policies designed to rebalance reciprocity in pursuit of geo-economic ambition and for the pursuit of technological leadership within the EU Treaties’ level-playing-field legal foundation. Yet there is a thin line to collisions with international (trade and investment) law, notably where value prioritization, technological preferences or geopolitical concerns are tantamount to discrimination or invite protectionist policy choices. Employment of coercive tools in a unilateral fashion questions the legal default of multilateralism and openness. Persistent strategic diversity within the Union hinders ‘institutional autonomy’, particularly where unanimity voting makes intergovernmentalism the predominant mode of cooperation. The findings shed light on how the evolving geopolitical environment leads to a recalibration of EU external relations between protection and openness, independence and interdependence, unilateralism and multilateralism and power and rules.

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The article analyzes the institutional and legal foundations of combating transnational drug trafficking in the European Union (EU), as well as the regulatory and legal regulation of Ukraine's cooperation with relevant EU structures in the specified area. The regulatory and legal regulation and policy of the EU in the field of combating drug trafficking are studied from the point of view of their implementation in Ukraine as part of the implementation of the policy aimed at gaining full membership in the European Union. The works of Ukrainian and foreign scientists related to combating illegal drug trafficking in the context of the implementation of the EU anti-drug policy were analyzed. It was concluded that the European Commission sees the fight against the drug trade and organized crime in general as a key component of the EU agenda, emphasizing the need to develop a new strategic approach to the drug problem. Effective activity in this direction requires cooperation at the EU level and beyond, while the European Union tries to act as a driving force at the global level. The article points to the importance of Ukraine's acquisition of the status of an EU candidate country in June 2022. Acquiring full membership in the European Union requires our country to carry out a number of reforms and adapt its legislation in line with European criteria. Further steps in this direction will also require the implementation of strategic documents in the field of combating organised crime, and the integration of the activities of the Security Service of Ukraine into the overall European security environment. The author concludes that bringing Ukraine's anti-criminal policy in line with European standards will significantly contribute to the implementation of the European integration policy in general. It is noted that the Agreement on Operational and Strategic Cooperation between Ukraine and Europol, signed in 2017, is the main legal act regulating cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the field of combating transnational drug trafficking. For the SSU, Europol is one of the most important international partners, the use of which is crucial for ensuring effective operational and service activities in a number of areas. Countering drug trafficking is embedded in the core of the EU's external relations, and the role of this area is increasing as the threats to the EU's security from this phenomenon grow. Such relations in this area should be based on the principles of shared responsibility, multilateralism and coordination of the global response. In the international arena, the European Union is promoting an approach that is evidence-based, holistic, balanced and multidisciplinary. Cooperation should be established with countries of origin and transit of drugs and international organisations. The application of approaches in this area developed in the European Union is important for the implementation of the European integration policy of Ukraine, which should be taken into account in the organisation of operational and service activities of the Security Service of Ukraine.

Debate: Is There A Need for A Directive on Pillar Two?

A legally binding link for a simultaneous implementation of Pillars One and Two in the European Union (EU), as requested by one Member State, has not been accepted by the French Presidency. The author contends that a legal link between the Directive on Pillar Two and international developments is not incompatible with European sovereignty. This is so, for several reasons: (1) the competence for implementing the minimum tax foreseen by Pillar Two is not exclusive to the EU; (2) the principle of primacy would not impede the EU harmonization on Pillar Two being made dependent upon the evolution of the international agreements on the topic; (3) taking into account the developments of Pillar Two and the contents of the proposal for a Directive, it is dubious that a Directive is necessary for fulfilling the requirements of the internal market; (4) the interaction among all the instruments, exceptions, deferrals, and options foreseen in the model rules, in the original Proposal and the concessions may lead to multiple regimes. The latter can be achieved by the national transposition of the model rules. Pillar Two Directive, principle of autonomy, principle of primacy, European sovereignty, EU legal order, international tax agreement, treaty override, EU external relations, EU competence, subsidiarity, proportionality

The role of culture in EU Foreign Policy: Between International Cultural Relations and Cultural Diplomacy

This article offers an analysis of the role of culture in the European Union's external relations. Firstly, it traces the institutional evolution of the cultural policies implemented by the EU in its external relations. It picks up on the distinction between cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations. Secondly, the limits of the EU's strategic approach to culture in external relations are illustrated, with particular attention given to the consequences of changes in the international system and the organisational and legal limits of supranational action in cultural relations. The paper demonstrates how the current global context is not conducive to the deployment of culture in international relations as envisioned in the EU strategic approach. We argue that without a strengthening of its normative spirit and traditional liberal-cum-internationalist approach, the EU has little chance of achieving international cultural relations based on a participatory and argumentative approach aimed at achieving global solidarity. More likely is a cultural diplomacy understood as a form of public diplomacy and characterised by strategic communication supportive of the EU’s increasingly geo-political agenda.

Youth Perceptions of the EU and the Baltic States in Ukraine: Emotive Attitudes and Images

This article analyses the perceptions that young people in Ukraine have of the European Union (EU) and the Baltic States. Based on a qualitatively rich data set from surveys carried out with students across four regions of Ukraine – Kyiv, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkiv – the paper draws on International Relations (IR) image theory to analyse the cognitive, normative, and emotive elements of youth perceptions of the national Self of Ukraine and the important Others of the EU and the Baltic States. Several key findings emerge from the study: (1) youth in Ukraine have broadly positive attitudes towards the EU and the Baltic States; (2) young people in Ukraine report greater familiarity with EU affairs than those of the Baltic States; but (3) attitudes to the EU are predominantly cognitive while (4) attitudes to the Baltic States are predominantly emotive; and finally (5) youth in Ukraine perceive the EU and Baltic state Other in normatively positive terms but the national Self in normatively negative terms. Our findings underline the centrality of the emotive aspect of IR image theory in public perception research and in processes of political socialization. This study therefore makes an important contribution to theoretical literatures on IR image as well as providing a timely empirical analysis with direct relevance to EU external relations diplomacy and the development of EU neighbourhood policy. European Union, Ukraine, Baltic States, International Relations, Image Theory, Mental Mapping, Public Perception Research

Switzerland-EU Relations: The Bilateral Way in a Fragilized Position

Relations between Switzerland and the European Union are in bad shape and the Swiss are tearing each other apart on this issue. There are two major issues at stake. First, the Swiss government is dithering over whether or not to initial a new Institutional agreement with the European Union (EU), although it was finalized by the negotiators in November 2018. In the event of non-acceptance by Switzerland, the European Union has already announced retaliatory measures. Secondly, in September 2020, Swiss citizens will have to vote on a popular initiative to scrap the agreement on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the EU. A positive vote would sound the death knell for the bilateral treaties between both entities as they are bound together by a guillotine clause. These difficulties between Switzerland and the EU are certainly not new. But two fresh developments have arisen. On the one hand, the support of the socialists and trade unionists for the bilateral way is waning. On the other hand, the European Union has become less flexible than it previously was. The worst should, logically, be avoided because the Swiss have always been a pragmatic people and solutions are relatively easy to find. But an accumulation of blunders, combined with misperceptions of the actual power relations, could prove fatal. Switzerland, EU external relations, EU external agreements, European Free Trade Association (EFTA), European Economic Area (EEA), Institutional agreement, Free movement of people, immigration, referendum, Brexit

Internal Market Acquis as a Tool in EU External Relations: From Integration to Disintegration

Brexit and the ensuing uncertainty about the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) future relationship with the European Union (EU) have brought the participation of non-EU Member States in the internal market to the centre of academic attention. The latter phenomenon is not novel and many of the existing frameworks for cooperation between the EU and its neighbourhood countries have been used as models for a possible post-Brexit arrangement. This article identifies the various roles played by the internal market acquis – both of integration and disintegration – in the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood by analysing the dynamics between the aims of various bilateral and multilateral instruments and the character and scope of the internal market acquis contained therein. The article argues that over time the function of the internal market acquis has evolved from providing a legal framework for the functioning of the internal market among the EU’s Member States to also integrating third countries into the Union’s sphere of influence beyond the accession process, and even membership. The internal market can thus no longer be regarded as an ‘internal’ and exclusive affair for the committed few that offers inspiration and limited access for third countries but rather as a dynamic and geographically inclusive form of collaboration between the Union and its periphery. internal market acquis, EU external relations, neighbourhood policy, European Common Aviation Area, Energy Community, Transport Community, European Economic Area, Switzerland, AA/DCFTA, Brexit, integration, disintegration

Understanding the European Union as a Global Gender Actor: The Holistic Intersectional and Inclusive Study of Gender+ in External Actions

This article assesses the study of gender equality policies in European Union external actions with a focus on the theoretical and empirical routes to understanding the field in times of crises. It argues that the emerging body of literature on gender in European Union external relations makes it possible to explain, understand, and judge the European Union in global politics by rethinking the nature of power from a gender perspective. The article then argues that to develop gender and European Union external relations in its next decade, it is necessary to rethink the study of the European Union as a global gender actor. This encompasses a reassessment of the ‘European Union’, ‘gender’, and the ‘global’, as well as the development of a holistic macro-, meso-, and micro-analysis. The article concludes by proposing a distinctive theoretical and methodological approach which involves a holistic intersectional and inclusive study of gender+ in European Union external actions.

‘Slaves to Fashion’ in Bangladesh and the EU: Promoting decent work?

Workers producing garments in developing countries for European brands are often described as ‘slaves to fashion’. They are denied decent work, a core ILO objective and a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Instead, they are employed in unsafe factories prone to frequent deadly fires or building collapse, subject to anti-union discrimination and violence. The deprivation of their labour rights and poor working conditions might lead to the conclusion that they are in fact ‘modern slaves’, and thus modern slavery is fuelling the garment supply chain which is, in turn, propelled forwards by the fast fashion demands of European consumers. Modern slavery within supply chains can be tackled by brands and retailers, typically those seen as responsible for such abuse and it can be tackled through trade and development policies by actors such as the European Union (EU). In Bangladesh, the EU is the country’s largest trading partner in garments, and it has considerable leverage to improve labour rights, in doing so tackling modern slavery in the supply chain, utilising trade conditionality. The EU has to date lacked a policy focus on tackling modern slavery in its external relations, but with the adoption of the UN SDG 8 which combines elimination of modern slavery with decent work, there is scope for bringing about longstanding change. This paper argues for more normative interconnections between decent work and modern slavery in both national and EU external relations policies.

Overlapping Negotiations, Conflicting Interests? EU-Singapore Negotiations

In 2013, the European Union (EU) concluded its first comprehensive trade agreement with a Southeast Asian partner. The EU-Singapore agreement (EUSFTA) was meant as a blueprint for further negotiations in the region and indeed it was paralleled by trade talks between the EU and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Given the significant challenges and roadblocks the EU faced in concluding both inter-regional and bilateral trade deals in Asia prior to the EUSFTA, the conclusion of this agreement can be understood as a significant success. However, this success has come at the cost of a shift in EU external relations away from the promotion of its own foundation norms of human rights, rule of law and democracy. This shift has had a deleterious effect on the EU’s legitimacy, founded on upholding these norms, both internally and in the Asian region. As a blueprint agreement, the EUSFTA can be analyzed to understand how this shift in the EU’s external relations will shape the EU’s wider trade policy in East Asia as well as the future of EU-Asia trade relations. This working paper will explore these negotiations and argue that the EU unbundled trade policy from its rights-based foreign policy in the EUSFTA. We argue that this creates significant opportunity for Singapore and other Asian states, but also presents a critical risk to the EU’s foundation norms, which were compromised in the EU’s negotiation of the EUSFTA.

The Effect of European Integration on Swiss Energy Policy and Governance

The unique “Swiss way” of association with the European Union (EU) has received increasing attention in light of recent events such as Brexit as it is based on sectoral agreements without an overarching institutional framework. As such, Europeanization of Swiss domestic policy does not follow a straightforward process. We examine the external governance processes that drive the Europeanization of Swiss energy policy. Switzerland and the EU are highly interdependent in energy due to Switzerland’s geographical position but there is a relatively low level of policy alignment, as there is no formal EU-Swiss energy agreement nor has Switzerland autonomously implemented legislation equivalent to the EU energy acquis. The EU has fully liberalized the energy market and is focusing on consumer empowerment and decarbonization through the Clean Energy Package, whereas the Swiss energy sector remains only partially liberalized. Through a series of expert interviews with key stakeholders, we reconstruct the historical developments in Swiss energy policy, focusing on the relationship with, and the influence of the EU. We observe elements of each of the three ideal modes of governance—markets, hierarchies, and networks. The relative importance of these modes of coordination in governing EU-Swiss energy relations has shifted considerably over time. Gradual harmonization of EU energy markets and certain key events have driven Swiss exclusion from EU network governance processes, leading to more hierarchy. We identify the strengths and weaknesses of each mode of governance for EU-Swiss energy relations in their historical setting and discuss the implications for energy policy in Switzerland in the context of the Clean Energy Package and EU external relations in general.

Externalising Europe’s energy policy in EU Free Trade Agreements: A cognitive dissonance between promoting sustainable development and ensuring security of supply?

It is no secret that while the European Union (EU) has taken up commitments to combat climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and its own 2020 and 2030 climate and energy package strategy, the Union continues to be heavily dependent on the import of fossil fuels from abroad. One may even say that this leads to a cognitive dissonance, i.e. the discomfort which ensues if one holds two contradictory values, with respect to the externalisation of the Union’s energy and sustainable development policy. On the one hand, the EU aims to become a global frontrunner in the field of promoting renewable energy and sustainable development. This expresses itself through the inclusion of specific chapters on Trade and Sustainable Development in the EU’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) (standard since the 2011 EU-South Korea FTA). On the other, the EU realises that it is imperative to secure the Union’s security of energy supply, still largely guaranteed by fossil fuels. Therefore, the Union in parallel attempts to eliminate discriminatory practices in international fossil fuel trade in its bilateral agreements (e.g. in the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement). This paper will explore the root causes of this cognitive dissonance and research what elements could contribute to ensuring more coherence in EU external energy policy. The objectives of sustainable development and security of supply are not necessarily contradictory per se. However, clearer delineations between the two objectives are necessary in EU external relations in general, and in the Union’s FTAs more specifically. This also applies to relations between Member States and the Union in this area, as well as to the interactions between the relevant EU institutions tasked with energy, sustainable development and the environment.

A polyphonic marketplace: Images of EU external energy relations in British, French and German media discourses

The European Union (EU) has long sought to play a normative role in global energy governance, a role that requires a coherent, comprehensible and memorable image. Yet within its borders, there are divisions and discrepancies on energy, which may have an impact on the external reception of EU actions. France, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK), commonly referred to as ‘the EU’s big 3’, seem to have little in common on issues of energy policy. EU rhetoric on external energy matters places firm emphasis on three key ‘frames’ of understanding: sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply, yet the domestic rhetorics of France, Germany and the UK variously appear to place priority on one or more of these frames. This article explores media representations of the EU’s external energy relations from within the ‘Big 3’ EU member states and asks whether the EU’s normative agenda on external energy drives these media representations, or whether domestic member state interests dominate.

The Promotion and Integration of Human Rights in EU External Trade Relations

<p class="p1">The European Union (EU) has made the upholding of human rights an integral part of its external trade relations and requires that all trade, cooperation, partnership and association agreements with third countries, including unilateral trade instruments, contain with varying modalities and intensity a commitment to the respect for human rights. The paper discusses selected aspects of the EU’s promotion and integration of human rights in its external trade relations and assesses the impact of the changes introduced by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) on EU practice.

World Diplomacy of the European Parliament

This article examines the role of the European Parliament in ensuring democratic participation in European Union external relations and global governance. Although the Lisbon Treaty has reinforced the European Parliament’s foreign affairs prerogatives, many obstacles hinder its influence. This prompts the European Parliament to invest considerable institutional resources not only to counterbalance the Commission and the Council and reduce information asymmetry, but also to enhance its posture on the world stage through value-oriented and region-oriented parliamentary diplomacy. The article argues that by conducting world diplomacy, the European Parliament generates critical mass for its institutional empowerment by a crafty application of its treaty rights, by means of non-legislative instruments, and by establishing bilateral and multilateral diplomatic contacts with parliamentary and executive bodies worldwide. The European Parliament thereby attempts to portray itself as an actor without which decisions cannot be made.

International Banking Standards, Private Law and the European Union

Over the past decades, but especially since the 2008 global financial crisis, there has been a proliferation as well as an intensification of international regulatory processes regarding the activities of banks: this goes from the work of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on prudential supervisory standards to the activities of the OECD-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, the negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s General Agreement on Services (GATS) regarding financial services, and the more recent work of the Group of 20 (G20) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) on issues as diverse as credit rating agencies and systemically important financial institutions. In all of these bodies, the European Union (EU) is involved, though often on a different institutional basis, going from full membership to observer status; some bodies count all EU Member States among their members whereas others are more limited in membership. This contribution looks into the role which the EU plays in this area of standard setting for international banking activities, in particular those norms that can broadly be characterized as ‘regulatory private law’, thereby bringing together both dimensions of ‘EU external relations law’ and ‘private law’. First of all, it is explored how the EU engages in practice within the international banking standard setting processes concerned. It then turns to the impact of international banking standards on internal EU law- and policy-making in a number of chosen areas. The paper attempts to assess the influence which the EU exercises – partly through exporting its own regulatory agenda/acquis - on international law- and policymaking in this area.

The Paradigm of Sustainability in a European Social Context: Collective Participation in Protection of Future Interests?

The treatment by the European Union (EU) of sustainable development, whether concerning economic, social or environmental protection (or some combination of the three) is normally viewed in the context of EU external relations. The aim of this article, however, is to consider the implications of the EU’s internal commitment to sustainability, as required by Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), addressing the extent to which this provision is capable of being realized in the social context of labour relations. It is argued that sustainable development is an inherently dynamic process requiring broad-based participatory processes, including collective bargaining by trade unions. However, to fulfil this participatory function, trade unions must be allowed to address and bargain over social policy for the future. Unfortunately, what emerges is the lack of positive support in EU and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) case law for workers’ collective voice which looks forward in the way that sustainable development necessitates. This is evident from judicial determinations on the scope of entitlements to participation in information and consultation mechanisms and collective bargaining. It is also apparent from case law concerning the extent of legitimate aims for collective action and the enforceability of dynamic clauses in collective agreements. Further, the outlook for a future policy shift in the EU does not look promising. More needs to be done at European level to promote workers’ collective participation in building sustainable solutions for the future.  

‘Culture in EU external relations’: an idea whose time has come?

This chapter analyses the emergent cultural diplomacy discourse and practice of the European Union (EU) institutions, which has differed from that of nation-states. In semantics to begin with, since a far broader notion of ‘culture in EU external relations’ is EU usage. Yet Bhabha’s theoretical distinction between the ‘pedagogical’ and the ‘performative’ functions of nation-state narrative strategies holds at the supra-national scale as well: the author will explore the ways in which these functions have been appropriated by non-state actors. In EU cultural diplomacy as a ‘cultural policy of display’ in Raymond Williams’ sense, the agenda setting process has thus been marked by a polyvocal process of appropriation by different stakeholders. They have recently taken the discourse ‘beyond cultural diplomacy’ and expedient ‘soft power’ considerations, in a spirit of global cultural citizenship that privileges intercultural dialogue, mutuality and reciprocity. How this vision will be applied, however, is yet to be seen.

Uncertainty at the EU's borders: narratives of EU external relations in the revised European Neighbourhood Policy towards the southern borderlands

This article analyses the role of narratives in European Union (EU) external relations in the revised European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and systematically explores how they operate in practice in the context of the EU's border management practices vis-à-vis the “southern borderlands”, in particular with respect to their inclusionary and exclusionary potential. Key EU documents and statements by EU agents, released throughout the first three years of Arab uprisings and pertaining to the revised ENP, will be subjected to a thorough examination which highlights four observations: first, in spite of the fact that the revised ENP is rooted in several narratives, some nevertheless dominate over others; second, the simultaneous presence of and recourse to different narratives contribute to an increase, rather than a decrease, of uncertainty in the EU's southern borderlands; third, despite a multitude of narratives which serve to legitimize EU action in the framework of the revised ENP, the latter perpetuates the logics of its predecessor by generating benefits mainly for the EU itself; fourth, that the first three years of the revised ENP have in practice demonstrated that an imbalance exists between on the one hand the original acceptance of the narratives by EU stakeholders and on the other hand their willingness to abide by them and fill them with life.