Geert De Baere – författare

The third edition of this book incorporates more than 10 years of fascinating dynamics since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Apart from analysing the general basis of the Union's external action and its relationship to international law, the book explores the law and practice of the EU in more specialized fields of external action, such as common commercial policy, neighbourhood policy, development cooperation, cooperation with third countries, humanitarian aid, external environmental policy, and common foreign and security policy, as well as EU sanctions. Five years after the second edition published, this fully updated edition contains major developments within the law itself, along with changes and restructuring of the themes within the book. Carefully selected primary documents are accompanied with analytic commentary on the issues they raise and their significance for the overall structure of EU external relations law. The primary materials selected include many important legal documents that are hard to find elsewhere but give a vital insight into the operation of EU external relations law in practice.

The third edition of this book incorporates more than 10 years of fascinating dynamics since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Apart from analysing the general basis of the Union's external action and its relationship to international law, the book explores the law and practice of the EU in more specialized fields of external action, such as common commercial policy, neighbourhood policy, development cooperation, cooperation with third countries, humanitarian aid, external environmental policy, and common foreign and security policy, as well as EU sanctions. Five years after the second edition published, this fully updated edition contains major developments within the law itself, along with changes and restructuring of the themes within the book. Carefully selected primary documents are accompanied with analytic commentary on the issues they raise and their significance for the overall structure of EU external relations law. The primary materials selected include many important legal documents that are hard to find elsewhere but give a vital insight into the operation of EU external relations law in practice.

The volume explores the marked differences between the complex and rapidly changing legal organization of EU external relations and the EU's 'internal' constitutional order. The European Union is unique as a polity organized along federal lines but with fully fledged States as its component political entities. The tension between the self-conscious Member States and their constitutional relationship within the EU is especially pronounced in the foreign policy field, where they remain determined to assert their status as full subjects of the international order. This book explores how foreign policy fits within the constitutional structure of the EU, characterized by the division of external relations competences between the EU and the Member States ('the vertical axis'), and between the 'pillars' of which the Union is composed, in particular the division between the Community competences of the first pillar and the common foreign and security competences of the second pillar ('the horizontal axis').This is a study of the extent to which foreign policy is legally sui generis within the sui generis constitutional order of the EU, and of how the common foreign and security policy is in turn sui generis within the foreign policy structure of the Union. It provides both an exploration of the constitutional reality of EU foreign policy and theoretical analysis which suggests possibilities for reform.

Today, many people agree that the EU lacks solidarity and needs a social dimension. This debate is not new, but until now the notion of a 'social Europe' remained vague and elusive. To make progress, we need a coherent conception of the reasons behind, and the agenda for, not a 'social Europe', but a new idea: a European Social Union. We must motivate, define, and demarcate an appropriate notion of European solidarity. We must also understand the legal and political obstacles, and how these can be tacked. In short, we need unequivocal answers to questions of why, what, and how: on that basis, we can define a clear-cut normative and institutional concept. That is the remit of this book: it provides an in-depth interdisciplinary examination of the rationale and the feasibility of a European Social Union. Outstanding scholars and top-level practitioners reflect on obstacles and solutions, from an economic, social, philosophical, legal, and political perspective.

Today, many people agree that the EU lacks solidarity and needs a social dimension. This debate is not new, but until now the notion of a 'social Europe' remained vague and elusive. To make progress, we need a coherent conception of the reasons behind, and the agenda for, not a 'social Europe', but a new idea: a European Social Union. We must motivate, define, and demarcate an appropriate notion of European solidarity. We must also understand the legal and political obstacles, and how these can be tacked. In short, we need unequivocal answers to questions of why, what, and how: on that basis, we can define a clear-cut normative and institutional concept. That is the remit of this book: it provides an in-depth interdisciplinary examination of the rationale and the feasibility of a European Social Union. Outstanding scholars and top-level practitioners reflect on obstacles and solutions, from an economic, social, philosophical, legal, and political perspective.

International and supranational courts are increasingly central to the development of a transnational rule of law. Except for insiders, the functioning and impact of these courts remain largely unknown. Addressing this gap, this innovative book examines the manner in which and the extent to which international courts and tribunals contribute to the rule of law at the national, regional, and international levels.With unique insights from members of the international judiciary, this authoritative book deals with the fundamental procedural and substantive legal principles, sources, tools of interpretation, and enforcement used by the respective judicial bodies. The rule of law-focused approach offers a unique opportunity for a thorough cross-case analysis of the differences and commonalities in the essential contributions of the respective courts and tribunals to international justice. The book also includes an in-depth theoretical framework and allows for the identification of fundamental principles and commonalities, as well as differences and contrasts between the different judicial bodies.In addition to students, researchers and scholars in international law, this timely and comprehensive study of international courts and their contributions will be an enlightening resource for legal practitioners and those involved with international justice.Contributors include: S. Brammertz, A.A.Cançado Trindade, K. Chan, A.-L. Chané, B. Concolino, P. Couvreur, G. De Baere, A. Follesdal, D. Fransen, P. Gautier, P. Lemmens, K. Lenaerts, P. Van den Bossche, H. Van Houtte, J. Wouters

This edited volume aims to reveal the Janus-faced character of federalism in the European Union. Federalism appears in two main forms in the EU. On the one hand, numerous formerly unitary Member States have embarked on a path towards a (quasi-)federal governance structure. On the other hand, the EU itself is sometimes qualified as a federal system. Significantly, the concept of federalism has a very different, even opposite, connotation in both contexts. When associated with Member State reform, federalism is regarded as a technique for accommodating autonomy claims of sub-state nations. By contrast, when federalism is used as a label for the EU itself, it is conceived as a far-reaching way of integrating the nations of Europe. This dual appearance of federalism in the EU context is central to the structure of the book. The first collection of essays addresses the question whether the EU may be described as a federal system, and whether it can learn from existing federations. In the second set of contributions, the attention shifts to domestic federalisation processes, more particularly to the impact of these processes on EU law and vice versa.