EU external relations law: Time for a reality check?
| Author | Allan Rosas |
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X20922387 |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
EU external relations law:
Time for a reality check?
Allan Rosas*,**,***
Keywords
EU external relations, reality check, common foreign and security policy, EU competence, research
topics, mixed agreements
With the increasing importance of EU external relations within the broader framework of EU
policies and strategies, it is no wonder that there has also been a considerable increase in legal
research and publications relating to external relations law.
1
This is a welcome development, not
only for the sake of understanding the legal and politico-legal aspects of EU external relations as
such but also because any meaningful study of the Union constitutional order should include the
external relations dimension.
2
In fact, EU external relations law offers one of the best ways of understanding the essential
features of the Union legal order in general. On the one hand, the treaty-making and other powers
of the Union go well beyond anything that intergovernmental organizations such as the United
Nations and its Specialized Agencies, the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the Council of
Europe, are bestowed with. On the other hand, federal states such as Brazil, Russia or the United
States are not encumbered with a variety of actors such as are involved in the external activities of
* College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium
** University of Turku, Turku, Finland
*** University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
Corresponding author:
Allan Rosas, College of Europe, Europe; University of Turku, Turku, Finland; University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
E-mail: allanrosas4@gmail.com
1. To name but a few fairly recent treatises of a general nature, see P. Eeckhout, EU External Relations Law (2nd edition,
Oxford University Press, 2011); P. Koutrakos, EU International Relations Law (2nd edition, Hart Publishing, 2015); P.J.
Kuijper et al., The Law of EU External Relations: Cases, Materials, and Commentary on the EU as an International
Legal Actor (2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2015); R.A. Wessel and J. Larik,
EU External Relations Law, Text, Cases and Materials (Hart, 2020). In addition, there are numerous edited books of a
general nature, not to speak of a great number of books and articles on particular areas or problems.
2. A. Rosas and L. Armati, EU Constitutional Law: An Introduction (3rd edition, Hart Publishing, 2018), p. 6.
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2020, Vol. 27(3) 277–283
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X20922387
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