Studies in EU External Relations – serie

The European Union at the United Nations examines the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) regime at the United Nations (UN) in New York. It assesses the functioning and quality of the coordination and representation of EU Member States’ national interests and EU policy aims in the most important international organization. Besides dealing with the effectiveness and coherence of EU representation at the UN, the book scrutinizes the potential of the EU as a single actor in foreign and security affairs, reviews CFSP developments generally, and explores whether the process ‘Europeanization’ is taking place in EU external relations. The qualitative institutional analysis is supported by a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of EU Member States’ voting behavior in the UN General Assembly.

The European Union officially acquired international legal personality with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Since then, the constitutional foundations of EU external relations have received an ever-greater amount of scholarly attention. So far however, the body of knowledge has remained limited with regard to how the Union is actually being perceived on the global scene. Moreover, its dealings with other international organizations constitute a similar, still underexplored topic. The European Union's Emerging International Identity breaks new ground by addressing both these themes in combination. The resulting volume offers an innovative inquiry into the EU’s image and status, based on a select number of studies of its position and functioning within the framework of eight international organizations.

While forces of globalization have created a genuine global marketplace, global rules safeguarding the competitive process in this marketplace have not emerged. International cooperation among national regulators and enforcers is therefore needed to create a competitive global business-environment. The Future of International Competition Law Enforcement, using the variety of legal instruments available to the EU as a point of departure, undertakes an original assessment of the EU's cooperation agreements in the field of competition law The work’s focus is on the bilateral sphere, often labelled as a mere 'interim-solution' awaiting a global agreement; further attention is given to competition provisions in free trade agreements as well as the main multilateral initiatives in this field, in order to determine their relative value.

The Treaty of Lisbon has significantly enhanced the EU’s institutional framework and the instruments at its disposal in foreign policy and external relations, notably through the creation of the function of the High Representative, supported by the European External Action Service. Contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security is one of the core objectives of the EU’s external action. This volume, with contributions from legal experts on EU foreign policy and external relations, illustrates the manifold legal issues arising in EU external action and in its efforts to achieve this essential objective.

As the EU’s relations with Russia remain at an all-time low and continue to be in a state of paralysis, marked by de-institutionalisation, inertia and estrangement, the EU’s policy towards Russia seems up for review. By taking stock of the implementation of the EU’s Global Strategy and the five principles that are guiding EU-Russia relations, this volume provides a forward-looking angle and contributes to a better understanding of the current EU-Russia relationship and the prospects for overcoming the existing deadlock. By bringing together European and Russian scholars and adopting an interdisciplinary perspective that combines insights from EU studies, international relations, and European and international law, the book provides a comprehensive and holistic view on the state of affairs in EU-Russia relations.

What makes the relationship between Switzerland and the EU so challenging? For both parties, mutual relations are of crucial importance, not least economically. As a result of the Swiss voters’ rejection of the European Economic Area 30 years ago, there is at present a large number of agreements that provide for Switzerland's partial participation in the EU's internal market as well as other matters. At the same time, there has now for more than a decade been an increasing degree of institutional and legal uncertainty. The present volume offers an inventory of different sides of this special relationship, which is interesting also in a comparative context.

In EU Anti-Corruption Efforts in the Eastern Neighbourhood, Mihai-Razvan Corman provides a fresh and original legal analysis of the EU’s capability to tackle this complex and multi-facetted phenomenon beyond its borders. Key legal instruments and mechanisms from the external dimension are examined and contrasted to the EU’s anti-corruption arsenal towards Member States. Special attention is dedicated to the EU’s anti-corruption capability in the areas of organized and cross-border crime, public procurement and political party financing. In particular, this book focuses on the implications of the EU’s internal capability for its external efforts. It also explores to what extent there is a gap between the EU’s high ambitions of tackling corruption in the Eastern Neighbourhood and its actual legal capability. While EU anti-corruption efforts in Moldova serve as a crucial case study, its engagement in the other candidate countries from the EaP is also incorporated in the analysis.