bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How to (Not) Walk the Talk: The Demand for Palestinian Self-Determination as a Challenge for the European Neighbourhood Policy
Authors: Beck Martin
Published: April 2022

The aim of the current article is to analyse the challenges for the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to pursue a meaningful and effective policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on four dimensions: the history of European foreign policies toward the Middle East conflict, opportunities and constraints of realizing Palestinian self-determination, institutional opportunities and constraints for the ENP of walking the talk of an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, and policy options of the EU toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and their success conditions.

The EU’s chances and constraints in addressing the Israeli–Palestinian conflict are discussed as structural challenges: the challenge created through the historical normative engagement of the EU, the problematic local conditions for constructively dealing with the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the European institutional capabilities and their limits to project its policy concepts on the Middle East. The critical discussion of the three-faceted system of challenges that the EU is exposed to when dealing with the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is followed by the presentation and assessment of different policy options in the light of success conditions to (not) walk the talk of dealing with the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in a productive way. The article comes to the conclusion that the EU is hardly capable of contributing to the realization of Palestinian self-determination.
Mobility Partnerships and Security Subcomplexes in the Mediterranean: The Strategic Role of Migration and the European Unions Foreign and Security Policies Towards the MENA Region
Authors: Seeberg Peter
Published: April 2022

The present article discusses the negotiating and implementing of Mobility Partnership (MP) agreements between the European Union (EU) and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. Taking its starting point in the conceptual notions of subregional security complexes and non-traditional security issues, the article analyses the MPs by looking at the strategic significance of migration in the context of EU’s foreign and security policy cooperation with the five Arab Mediterranean states. The MPs are seen as an important element in the EU’s overall migration strategy, but have been met with reluctance by the Arab partner states. The article concludes that so far only to a limited degree have the MPs developed into well-functioning tools for managing the migration policies of the EU and its partners states, and that they seem mainly to play a role as instruments for the EU’s foreign and security policy interests.
EU and US Regulatory Power Under Strain? Emerging Countries and the Limits of External Governance
Authors: Serrano Omar , Krizic Ivo , Lavenex Sandra
Published: April 2022

The EU and the US are at the origin of most international institutions and rules for both trade and finance, and both have long exported their preferred policies to the rest of the world. Today, this hegemonic position is increasingly challenged by the rise of new centres of economic power such as China, India and Brazil. This introductory article introduces the ‘supply-and-demand model of regulatory power’ guiding this Special Issue and, drawing on the latter’s contributions, illustrates the interplay between EU/US regulatory outreach and emerging economies’ domestic politics in explaining the embracement or rejection of EU/US trade-related agendas.
Power and Institutionalized International Regulatory Cooperation: A Multi-Method Analysis of Antitrust Agreements
Authors: Cho Moohyung , Büthe Tim
Published: April 2022

This article examines the distinctiveness of Brazil, India and China in international regulatory governance by asking whether the European Union (EU)’s dedicated antitrust agreements (ATAs) with Brazil, India and China (BICs) differ significantly from the EU’s other ATAs, and whether observable differences are attributable to these emergent powers’ increased influence in global regulatory governance. We address these questions through a multi-method comparative analysis, using an original dataset of international ATAs. These bilateral inter- and trans-governmental agreements seek to avoid or ameliorate conflicts and establish cooperation between government agencies responsible for competition law and policy. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses both point to a striking ability of the BICs (and Russia) to insist on quite distinctive agreements with regard to both what is covered by these agreements and how any mutual commitments to conflict resolution and regulatory cooperation are articulated. This finding is based on various overall metrics and a computer-assisted comparative textual analysis of all dedicated ATAs to which the EU is a signatory, using inter alia plagiarism detection software, complemented by qualitative content analyses of the agreements and information drawn from interviews with regulatory officials, to gain a better understanding of similarities and differences between the agreements and thus address in more detail the question how unique the BICs are in their ability to pursue distinctive regulatory objectives in the realm of competition law and policy. We conclude that the distinctiveness of the BIC R agreements is indeed indicative of these emergent economies’ increased power in global economic governance—and, more tentatively, that the increased influence of Brazil, China, and India in global regulatory governance is unlikely to be fully matched by other developing countries.
Labour Rights Promotion in the Absence of Conditionality? How the EU and the US Engage China and India
Authors: Oehri Myriam
Published: April 2022

Labour standards are one of the most contested issues in economic relations between developed countries and emerging markets. As attempts to codify such standards in the WTO have failed, the EU and the US have intensified their efforts to promote them in bilateral and regional Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Whereas this practice has been quite consistent across the globe, the lack of corresponding PTAs with China and India restricts US and EU potentials. This article turns the question on its head and explores to what extent the EU and the US promote labour standards in China and India in the absence of conditional clauses, by focusing on more horizontal strategies of cooperation instead. Drawing on the analytical framework of institutional and substantive labour standards promotion in the absence of conditionality and on the supply and demand model of regulatory influence, the study reveals that while conditional approaches in the field of labour standards are highly contested by China and India, the US and the EU are able to engage them via technical cooperation, political dialogues, Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs), and other formal agreements. It furthermore shows that core labour standards are less consistently addressed in their bilateral cooperation than technical and governance labour standards.
Forced Displacement and EU External Action: Exogenous Shocks, Policy Frames and Institutional Dynamics
Authors: Cortinovis Roberto
Published: April 2022

The unfolding of Europe’s ‘refugee crisis’ from 2015 onward has put the external dimension of asylum policy at the top of the European Union’s (EU) agenda. This article analyses policy change in this expanding area of EU external action, focusing on the role played by exogenous factors and EU institutional dynamics. It argues that, in line with global debates and initiatives to expand the scope of durable solutions for refugees, EU institutions have endeavoured to place development at the centre of the EU approach to forced displacement. As shown by the cases of cooperation with Turkey and African countries, however, concerns over increasing migrant and refugee movements in many Member States have led to the simultaneous deployment of a policy agenda centred on containment, in which development aid is framed as a tool to pursue migration control objectives. This article concludes that the uneasy relation that exists between these two policy agendas calls into question the overall coherence of EU external action in the field of asylum and refugee protection.
The European Union as a Transformative Power, a Donor or a Security Provider?: The View from the Eastern Partnership Countries
Authors: Rosca Alla , Axyonova Vera , Gerasymchuk Sergiy , Kakachia Kornely
Published: April 2022

Since the launch of the European Union’s (EU’s) Eastern Partnership initiative in 2009, it has attracted considerable scholarly attention. Yet, so far it has been largely analysed from a very EU-centred perspective, looking into how policies are developed by the EU and what are their effects in the ‘target countries’. Rarely has the table been turned around, asking how the EU and its initiatives are viewed in these countries. This article intends to fill this gap by examining perceptions of the EU among think tanks, i.e. civil society actors seeking influence on foreign policy formation in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. The study maps and evaluates discursive frames used by representatives of think tanks. Methodologically, the research employs content analysis of think tank publications, covering a period of two and a half years – between November 2013 and May 2016.
Well-Meaning but Ineffective? Perceptions of the EUs Role as a Security Actor in the South Caucasus
Authors: Wolczuk Kataryna , Delcour Laure
Published: April 2022

Using role theory, in this article we seek to bridge existing gaps in research on the European Neighbourhood Policy by asking how local actors perceive EU engagement in regional security. Based upon extensive qualitative research conducted in the South Caucasus, we scrutinize whether the EU’s conception of its role as a security actor coincides with the expectations of South Caucasian actors and their perception of the EU’s performance in conflict resolution. We show that the EU’s prioritization of security coincides with high demand in the South Caucasus for greater EU involvement. Yet our analysis reveals a major mismatch between, on the one hand, the EU’s own role conception of being a strong security provider and South Caucasus countries’ perceptions of its weak performance in conflict settlement. This is because the EU’s toolbox – focussing on capacity- and confidence-building measures – is not well attuned to both local needs and a broader regional context shaped by an increasingly confrontational Russia.
Quo Vadis EU Investment Law and Policy? The Shaky Path Towards the International Promotion of EU Rules
Authors: Gáspár-Szilágyi Szilárd
Published: April 2022

Following the Lisbon changes to the EU’s Common Commercial Policy (CCP), the path was set for the EU to conclude international agreements that cover the protection of foreign direct investment and to participate in international investment law (IIL) as a creator and promoter of norms. Nonetheless, recent political and legal events might jeopardize the workability and coherence of the emerging EU investment law and policy. In light of this, this article first aims to contribute to the existing discussion on the ways in which the EU can export its norms externally and provides a conceptual understanding of the often-used term of ‘convergence’ and how the EU might induce some level of convergence of IIL norms. Secondly, the article has a sceptical undertone as to whether the EU can become an IIL rule-promoter and whether it can induce some level of convergence of IIL norms. Whilst the possibility is there, the multilateral and diffused nature of investment law, the presence of strong international actors with their own agendas, the domestic contestation of investor-state dispute settlement, and the important role of the Court of Justice might hamper the EU’s attempt to become a major influencer of IIL norms
Corporate Social Responsibility in Recent Bilateral and Regional Free Trade Agreements: An Early Assessment
Authors: Jacur Francesca Romanin
Published: April 2022

When looking at international trade and investment, there is a quite remarkable gap between the commercial power companies gain through international bilateral and regional trade agreements (Free Trade Agreements or FTAs) and investment treaties that facilitate their access to foreign markets and the norms of these agreements which address corporate behaviours in order to align them with sustainable development objectives. For instance, there is a strong perception by the public opinion that the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, harshly criticized for lack of transparency, would favour multinational corporations and other business operators at the expenses of the protection of public interests. Recently negotiated FTAs contain dedicated chapters to social, labour and environmental protection issues, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) norms. The opening of FTAs and their investment chapters to sustainable development concerns is – or should be – a way to rebalance the level playing field in these interstate agreements by envisaging public interest standards applicable to business operators. Disagreements between the Parties regarding these provisions may be solved through implementation mechanisms where non-state actors can actively participate. Notwithstanding this shift towards the inclusion of non-trade and non-state actors consideration, the provisions of bilateral and regional FTAs remain of an intergovernmental nature and do not provide for direct obligations for corporations. Despite the lack of vertical effects and the consequent limited implications on enterprises, the presence of CSR clauses testifies the recognition of the crucial role that these actors play as potential promoters, on the one hand, but also of potential infringers, on the other hand, of human and labour rights and of environmental protection.

This contribution first examines the approach and the provisions of selected bilateral and regional FTAs that are relevant for the protection of human and social rights and the environment. It then analyses one of the latest developments in this decade-long normative evolution, which are the CSR clauses included in the more recent FTAs concluded by the European Union. While these clauses, for the time being, are rather programmatic and are coupled with soft implementation mechanisms, some reflections are proposed de lege ferenda on how they could ‘harden’ and become more stringent.
Evolution of Science Diplomacy and Its Local-Global Applications
Authors: Berkman Paul Arthur
Published: April 2022

The unambiguous reality of human civilization is that we now are globally interconnected. This fact is revealed by ‘world wars’, which happened for the first time in the history of humankind only in the last century. In context, global human population size has grown more than 1000% since the advent of the nation-state with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. During this period, the influence of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) has been expanding, certainly since the industrial revolution around 1800 when the human population reached 1 billion, accelerating to 8 billion people as we enter the next decade during our digital revolution. The challenges are on a planetary scale, as reflected further by concern about Earth’s climate, crossing the spectrum of sub-national to international jurisdictions with the nation-state at the centre. As an example, science diplomacy from the polar regions illustrates how transatlantic science relations are embedded into a global context. With hope and inspiration from the perspective of a practitioner and observer, the evolution of science diplomacy is shared herein with local-global applications as an international, interdisciplinary and inclusive (holistic) process, involving informed decision-making to balance national interests and common interests for the benefit of all on Earth across generations.
The Rise of Crimefare Europe: Fighting Migrant Smuggling in West Africa
Authors: Stambøl Eva Magdalena
Published: April 2022

This article explores the incremental role of criminalization and crime control in European Union (EU) foreign policy and external action. Protecting Europe from dangerous or unwanted mobility has come to drive the EU’s relations with Africa. Consequently, the EU’s liberal state-building agenda (promoting peace, democracy and human rights) seems to be increasingly accompanied or even sometimes supplanted by illiberal practices (criminalization, policing, surveillance, border security and militarization). Based on fieldwork in Niger, Mali and Senegal, the article investigates how West African countries’ internal security apparatuses and borders are increasingly becoming a main target sector for European assistance. Yet scrutinizing policy implementation reveals that some European crime definitions and control models are locally resisted and contribute to greater insecurity by upsetting fragile micro-political stability. As such, the article problematizes the compatibility of European and African security, and argues for a collaborative engagement between Criminology and International Relations (IR) in analysing the EU’s emerging global crime-fighting role.
The EU and the Problem of Illegal Logging: the Case of the EU-Malaysia VPA
Authors: Derous Marjolein
Published: April 2022

Malaysia was the first country in Asia to start negotiations for a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU). These VPAs are the core of the EU’s external forest governance and stem from the 2003 Forest Legality Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. Both aim to govern the ‘problem’ of illegal logging. This article presents two investigations. First, it looks at the process of problematization: what is the problem represented to be? In other words, how is the problem delineated and what assumptions underlie this representation? To this end, this article presents a thorough analysis of the FLEGT Action Plan, puts together the pieces of the problem, and links them to the coherence of the EU as a global actor. Second, the article delves into resistance to this governing in the case of Malaysia. In the VPA processes, the EU expects local actors to articulate their interests and streamline their knowledge to reach an optimal definition of legal logging. These expectations however obscure a history of diverging interests and legal battles in Malaysia. The second part of this article investigates how local actors such as indigenous peoples’ groups, timber producers and state-level politicians have come to resist the VPA and its governing in a series of opting-out and walking out.
The Concept of Resilience in EU External Relations: A Critical Assessment
Authors: Romanova Tatiana
Published: April 2022

The 2016 Global Strategy (GS) made resilience central to the European Union’s (EU’s) external activities. However, many aspects of resilience were ambiguous. Three of these aspects are identified in this article: whether resilience is about risks or resources, whether resilience means stability or change, and what is the role of values. These ambiguities created a space for the policy work of EU bureaucracy. This work is examined in development and neighbourhood fields, and in relations with Russia. Documents’ analysis and semi-structured interviews reveal a difference in how three ambiguities were interpreted. Differences were identified among policy fields but not between EU institutions. These differences reflect the efforts of EU officials to preserve consistency in ‘their’ fields. This policy work undermines one important goal for introducing resilience in the GS, the enhanced coherence of EU external activities. Finally, the study revealed that some interpretations moved closer to the theoretical writings on resilience compared with the GS.
European Union Adapting to an Era of No Ruling Trade Paradigm
Authors: Viju-Miljusevic Crina
Published: April 2022

Since the end of the Second World War, the ruling paradigm pertaining to international trade policy has been ‘fostering liberalization of trade and economic integration.’ The paradigm evolved through a convergence of a variety of different forces and has been a constant for approximately seventy years. The European Union (EU) is very much a product of the acceptance of the paradigm. The institutional arrangements of the EU have elements that foster achievement of the paradigm’s goals. In the last few years, however, acceptance of the paradigm may be waning. The inability to make substantial progress in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round is one indication. The EU itself is facing issues in ratifying certain aspects which the Commission negotiated at the bilateral level. Additionally, the deep trade agenda interferes in domestic politics. A question remains regarding how the EU has and will change its trade policy strategy in order to successfully achieve its international agenda for issues that have become more and more important for the EU societies.
The European Defence Union and Denmark’s Defence Opt-out: A Legal Appraisal
Authors: Butler Graham
Published: April 2022

When Denmark failed to ratify the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992, the heads of state and government meeting within the European Council concluded the Edinburgh Decision that established a number of opt-outs for Denmark, so it could subsequently ratify the treaty. One of these opt-outs was in regard to EU defence matters. Nearly three decades on, the Union is now seeing concrete steps being made across the treaties to deliver on a true European Defence Union. Given these developments, the Danish defence opt-out is coming under increased scrutiny. This article analyses the law, policy, and practice of the Danish defence opt-out contained in Article 5 of Protocol (No 22) on the position of Denmark annexed to the EU treaties, in light of the litany of initiatives that now make up the contemporary European Defence Union. Notably, these developments underscore and rationalize the basis of the EU’s internal market for deeper European integration. Moreover, with only one Member State possessing such opt-out, it is arguably detrimental to overall EU defence interests. This article contends that the time has come for Denmark to forgo its defence opt-out – a legacy of the past – and participate in the complete range of initiatives contributing to these new endeavours that form the contemporary European Defence Union.

Denmark, Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, Opt-out, EU law, Union law, Protocols, Security Law, European Defence Union.
The Tunisian ‘Exception’ and the Role of the EU: Perspectives from Tunisia
Authors: Nouira Asma
Published: April 2022

The Tunisian transition has been and is mostly led to a substantial amount by civil society actors. As such, Tunisia constitutes a particular case for evaluating the role of the EU which presents itself as a supporter of civil society. How, indeed, are its presence and practices perceived by those actors? Based on more than thirty interviews, the authors find that Tunisian stakeholders see an EU presence in the transition process, even though it is not perceived as decisive to date. Rather, some of the EU practices raise questions about its presence, specifically when they are more responsive to the European security paradigm while being unresponsive to Tunisian socio-economic needs.

Tunisia, democratic transition, citizenship, constitution, human rights
The EU in Antarctica: An Emerging Area of Interest, or Playing to the (Environmental) Gallery?
Authors: Raspotnik Andreas , Østhagen Andreas
Published: April 2022

Over the past decade, the EU has developed broader interests in the polar regions – ranging from fisheries, research and environmental protection to foreign affairs. Although this applies mainly to the Arctic region, its geographical opposite – the Antarctic – has not fallen into oblivion. This article explores the EU’s way ‘south’, examining its links to the region as well as the key drivers of this growing – albeit still limited – Antarctic engagement. International actions taken to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) also indicate supranational tendencies to engage actively in and with Antarctic affairs. In particular, this concerns the European Commission and broader debates on sustainable development and global environmental leadership.

European Union, Antarctic, Marine Protected Areas, Fisheries, Antarctic Treaty System
Extending the Logic of Integration Beyond EU Borders: External Differentiated Integration in the Case of the Energy Community
Authors: Göler Daniel , Kurze Kristina
Published: April 2022

How can the EU remain a transformative power without offering a full membership perspective? This question has triggered an intense debate among academics and practitioners alike. This article contributes to this debate by highlighting the conceptual relevance of Differentiated Integration (DI). We argue that DI offers an analytical concept to capture dynamics and processes often neglected in established approaches. This is especially so if one adopts a comprehensive understanding of DI, as we propose here. First, we focus on DI beyond EU borders, i.e. on external DI. Second, we argue that DI entails more than the inclusion of non-EU Member States in selected EU policies. Thus, external DI involves the extension of general integration dynamics (i.e. widening, broadening, and deepening) beyond EU borders. To illustrate our argument empirically, we analyse the Energy Community, an international organization initiated by the EU that has gone through significant processes of deepening, broadening and widening since its foundation. Overall, we maintain that external DI points to the EU’s potential of exporting the general logic of integration beyond its borders. Applied in this comprehensive sense, DI can add to our understanding of the EU as a transformative power.

European Integration, Energy Policy, Energy Community, External Governance, Transformative Power, Neighbourhood Policy, Differentiated Integration, Deepening, Widening
Brexit in the Eyes of East: How Will It Reshape EU/UK Trade Relations with East Asia?
Authors: Wu Chien-Huei
Published: April 2022

Brexit reshapes not only the EU-UK relations but also impact their trade relations with Asia. This article explores possible directions of EU/UK trade relations with Asia, covering free trade agreements, bilateral investment treaty and the UK’s potential participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This article argues that a sense of competitive liberalization motivates their pursuit for trade opportunities with East Asia. The EU has to prove its continuous relevance in the international economic relations as the Brexiters allege it as a constraint for the UK to pursue active and flexible trade relations. In contrast, the UK has to fulfill its promise of Global Britain by delivering measurable progress in trade negotiations instead of renegotiating back what it has already enjoyed under the EU free trade agreements (FTAs).

Brexit, Global Europe, Global Britain, Free Trade Agreement, Bilateral Investment Treaty, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership, populism, disintegration
European Union-Middle East Relations and International Relations Theory: A Stock-Taking and Suggestions for Research
Authors: H. Lawson Fred , Legrenzi Matteo
Published: April 2022

Current scholarship on European Union-Middle East relations has contributed little to ongoing theoretical debates in the academic discipline of international relations. Yet several influential research programmes regarding world politics would benefit from incorporating events and trends involving these two regions. In particular, conceptual controversies regarding regional and global security, the diffusion of regional identities, interregionalism and overlapping regionalism and the politics of empire will be advanced when specialists concentrate on analytical puzzles, and move beyond descriptive, evaluative and prescriptive accounts.

Security, interregionalism, overlapping regionalism, empire, European Union
The Institutional Dimension of the EU-UK Relationship After Brexit
Authors: Wouters Jan
Published: April 2022

In the absence of agreed institutional arrangements for the post-Brexit EU-UK relationship the present contribution explores whether guidance can be found for the institutional dimension of their future relationship in a number of other documents and principles. We will, first of all, examine the institutional framework laid down in the ‘Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, done at Brussels and London on 24 January 2020’, and its implementation. Second, we will uncover some aspects of the future institutional relationship based on the ‘Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom’ of 17 October 2019, which was adopted by the EU and the UK in parallel with the Withdrawal Agreement. Third, we will explore how the Commission sees that relationship based on its March 2020 draft text. Fourth, we will discuss at a meta level the principles which will in any event govern the institutional side of the future relationship, in particular the principle of good faith. Some brief concluding remarks round up.

Brexit, Institutional Framework, European Union, United Kingdom, Withdrawal Agreement, Political Declaration
Northern Ireland: A ‘Place Between’ in UK–EU Relations?
Authors: Phinnemore David
Published: April 2022

UK withdrawal from the EU – Brexit – poses particular challenges for Northern Ireland notably concerning its essentially invisible border with Ireland, an important feature of the peace process. With the EU having committed to finding ‘flexible and imaginative solutions’ during the withdrawal negotiations to address the ‘unique circumstances on the island of Ireland’, the UK and the EU agreed differentiated withdrawal terms in a dedicated Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland. These effectively keep Northern Ireland in the EU customs territory and, through a process of dynamic regulatory alignment, its internal market for goods. A unique but contested status – a ‘place between’ in the UK–EU relationship – has thus been conferred on Northern Ireland. The Protocol has some important shortcomings and implementation poses significant challenges yet also offers opportunities. How the challenges are met will play an important role in determining whether in 2024 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly vote to retain these arrangements. If they do not, politicians and officials will once again be faced with the question of how to avoid a physical hardening of the border on the island of Ireland.

Brexit, Institutional Framework, European Union, United Kingdom, Withdrawal Agreement, Political Declaration
The EEAS at Ten: Reason for a Celebration?
Authors: Wessel Ramses A. , Blockmans Steven
Published: April 2022

The tenth anniversary of the creation of the European External Action Service provides an opportune moment to take stock of the role which the Service has played in forging a more coherent, visible and effective EU foreign and security policy. At the same time, it offers a chance to field ideas on how the Union’s foreign policy actors might chart a course to guide the European External Action Service (EEAS) to what could be tumultuous teenage years. This article contextualizes the contributions to this first European Foreign Affairs Review (EFAR) Issue of 2021, which is devoted entirely to an assessment of where the EEAS’ strengths and opportunities lie, and which weaknesses need to be addressed to fit the Service for future purpose.

European External Action Service, Common Foreign and Security Policy, esprit de corps, European Commission, Foreign Affairs Council, representation, EU Global Strategy
Above the Fog and the Fury: EU Strategic Policy Planning and the EU’s Future in Times of Global Uncertainty
Authors: Delphin Hervé
Published: April 2022

Foreign policy is often dominated by the short term and dealing with urgencies at the expense of strategic planning. EU foreign policy is not immune to this risk. This begs the question of the EU’s ability to articulate strategic thinking and longer-term policy action in times of great uncertainty as caused by the Covid-19. Put simply, strategic planning and strategic foresight are disciplines that aim at identifying possible futures, mapping options and charting possible responses and strategic goals and as such support informed and sound policy-making. On that account, the EU has developed over time strategic policy frameworks for its foreign policy, such as the European Security Strategy in 2003 and the Global Strategy in 2016, that have served the Union rather well in navigating the global environment. The Covid-19 has come at a defining moment. Fraught with geopolitical stakes and global challenges, the EU’s ability to act strategically is being stress-tested on an unprecedented scale. Strengthening European strategic autonomy has emerged from policy planning work as the compass that can guide EU action through this period of geopolitical and global reshuffling. At the same time strengthening the Union’s strategic policy planning function and means has become a necessity to secure the effectiveness of external action.

Foreign policy, Strategic planning, Climate changes, Covid-19, Strategic autonomy
Differentiated Integration and Europe’s Global Role: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Rieker Pernille
Published: April 2022

In a time of global challenges, rising geopolitical tensions and a weakening of the traditional trans-Atlantic security community, we can expect pressures for Europe to play a more important role in the world. Various initiatives have been taken to strengthen the role of the European Union (EU), but there are also tendencies towards a more complex European governance structure in the making, characterized by a combination of both EU and non-EU (but still European) initiatives. This introductory article presents a framework for studying a European role that includes initiatives taken within and outside the EU framework, but closely interlinked, indicating that the concept of differentiated integration (DI) may help to clarify Europe’s role in a changing and volatile global context.

Differentiated Integration, Disintegration, EU as a global actor, EU foreign security and defence policy
Dynamics of Differentiated Integration in EU Defence: Organizational Field Formation and Segmentation
Authors: Bátora Jozef
Published: April 2022

This article analyses the dynamics of differentiated integration in EU defence. It contributes to assessing what Pernille Rieker (2021) terms ‘broader European capacity on the global stage’ involving both the EU’s defence structures and processes as well as those beyond the EU’s formal remit. The main argument in this article is that Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is bringing about two different and mutually complementary dynamics of integration: organizational field formation and segmentation. The preliminary practical result is a dual dynamic of growing standardization of the EU’s defence industries across all twenty-five PESCO Member States in defence project development and continued reliance on Western European defence industrial actors (including the UK after Brexit) in defence R&D and production. This means that while PESCO provides space for new joint defence projects across the participating Member States, the established structure and capacities of defence industries in the EU today set up conditions for what may be termed structural leadership by Western European defence industrial actors. Overall, this means that there is a particular – segmented – kind of differentiated integration in the field of EU defence industries in today’s EU (This article is an output of the EUFLEX project, which has been funded by the Research Council of Norway (project number 287131).).

PESCO, differentiation, organizational field, segmentation
Mixing It? Comparative Law In The Scottish Courts.
Authors: MacQueen Hector L
Published: April 2022

Abstract: The second contribution to the symposium held at Ghent focuses on the experience of Scotland as a mixed legal system. While one might expect such a system to be comparative in its approach, the author shows that there is little evidence to be found in the Courts. Referring to two previous statistics he produces his own table to show that cited foreign case law by and large stems from other Anglophone countries, notably England. He arrives at the conclusion that, with the exception of the ECHR, other foreign decisions are virtually absent from citations in Scottish Courts. After discussing some of the foreign decisions he points out that the significance of comparative law cannot be measured by the analysis of citations alone.
Harmonisation of European Contract Law and the Need of Creating a Common Terminology.
Authors: Pozzo Barbara
Published: April 2022

Abstract: The third contribution to the symposium held at Ghent addresses the issue of a common legal terminology in Europe. In doing so, the author also presents first results of a research into that question undertaken last year. In particular, she discusses the following topics: the concept of contract; defects of consent; the discharge of a contractual relationship; and the impact of Community directives.
The International Interest as an Autonomous Property Interest
Authors: Goode Roy
Published: April 2022

Abstract: The 2001 Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, with the Aircraft Equipment Protocol, is a major new convention which is designed to provide greatly enhanced security for financiers and lessors of aircraft objects, railway rolling stock and space property such as satellites. While previous conventions have provided a uniform conflict of laws rule they do not address the problem of major differences between legal systems, particularly in their attitude to the recognition and enforcement of security interests.

The Convention’s solution to these problems is radical and imaginative; it is no less than the creation of a wholly sui generis international interest which derives its force from the Convention, not from national law, which is perfected by registration in an International Registry and which upon registration is accorded priority over subsequently registered interests and unregistered interests and is given protection in the event of the debtor’s insolvency. This paper, after describing the sphere of application of the Convention, analyses the nature of the international interest for which it provides and the relationship between that interest and interests arising under national law.
The Rome Convention of 1980 and its Revision at the Crossroads of the European Contract Law Project
Authors: López-Rodríguez Ana M.
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This article deals with some of the issues addressed in the Action Plan on a more coherent European contract law, COM (2003) 68 final, in connection with the Green Paper of the European Commission of 14 January 2003, COM (2003) 654 final, on the conversion of the Rome Convention of 1980 on the law applicable to contractual obligations into a Community instrument and its modernization. It argues ways in which both initiatives may complement each other towards a smoother functioning of the internal market.
The Country of Origin Principle in the E-commerce Directive – A Conflict with Conflict of Laws?
Authors: Hellner Michael
Published: April 2022

Abstract: The question of the legal nature of the so-called country of origin principle in Article 3 of the EC E-commerce Directive causes great confusion. Many, including e-service providers, advocate that the provision should be understood as a choice of law rule designating the law of the place of establishment of the service provider as applicable. However, Article 1(4) of the Directive explicitly states that no additional rules of private international law are created. Is there a conflict within the Directive or can such a conflict be avoided? There are basically three ways in which the country of origin principle could be understood: (i) the E-commerce Directive establishes a choice of law rule for the law applicable to e-commerce services, irrespective of the provision in Article 1(4); (ii) the country of origin principle of the E-commerce Directive only sets out certain limitations to the application of the designated law; (iii) the Directive makes the rules of the home country of the service provider internationally mandatory and thus applicable irrespective of what law is applicable to the contract or tort etc. This article analyses the three alternatives and advocates the last solution as the one which is not only line with the legislative intent but also permits the Directive to maintain logical coherence.
Holding Back the Tide? Cross-Border Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships within the European Union
Authors: Bell Mark
Published: April 2022

Abstract: Recent years have witnessed significant reforms of national family law in respect of same-sex couples. There is a clear trend in Europe towards granting legal recognition to same-sex couples, although there is considerable diversity between the types of legal status being afforded. This article examines some of the spillover effects for European Union law arising from these national legal developments. The cross-border challenges were exemplified during the negotiation of the recently adopted Directive on the Free Movement of EU Citizens. In particular, the definition of the family of an EU citizen proved to be highly divisive. Currently, questions relating to the cross-border recognition of different family statuses fall to national legislation and the principles of private international law. Given the nexus with free movement and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, there appears a need for the European Union to contribute to a better coordination of same-sex partnership laws.
Article 6 of the Commission Proposal: Violation of Privacy - Defamation by Mass Media
Authors: Wagner Gerhard
Published: April 2022

The Commission?s Proposal for a Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (Rome-II) supplies a special conflicts rules for media torts and other invasions of privacy rights. The purpose of Article 6 of the Commission Proposal is to coordinate choice of law and forum selection. This objective deserves support but is difficult to specify and to translate into choice of law rules. Article 5 No. 3 Brussels-I Regulation establishes jurisdiction not only at the place where the injury was sustained, but alternatively at the place where the wrongful act occurred. Pursuant to the holding of the Shevill judgment of the European Court of Justice the court sitting at the place of the wrongful act has jurisdiction to award damages in full, for total harm, whereas the courts at the several places of injury may allow remedies only with respect to the harm suffered within the confines of their own jurisdiction. In contrast to the explicit intentions of the Commission, its proposal on conflicts law does not provide for a similar rule, i.e. it does not supplement the jurisdictional principles of the Shevill judgment with similar choice of law rules. The same failure, however, also affects the proposal of the European Parliament, laid down in the report of Diana Wallis, prepared for The Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market. The prerogative of ?Gleichlauf? requires choice of law rules which allow the courts seized either at the place of publication or at the place of injury to apply their own law, i.e. the lex fori.
Decision-Making about Suretyships under Empirical Uncertainty - How Consequences of Decisions about Suretyships Might Influence the Law
Authors: Kähler Lorenz
Published: April 2022

The paper addresses the uncertainty that prevails if courts have to decide about the fairness of suretyships. They do not know whether creditors will refrain from giving a credit in similar situations or increase the interest rate. Similarly, they do not know to what extent strict rules will ruin the lives of sureties. Several strategies how to deal with this uncertainty are analysed like the ignorance of adverse effects, the minimax-strategy and the choice of an overprotective or an underprotective rule. It will turn out that an underprotective rule creates a smaller risk than an overprotective rule.
Consumer Guarantees in the Future Consumer Credit Directive: Mandatory Ban on Consumer Protection?
Authors: Rott Peter
Published: April 2022

The proposed new Consumer Credit Directive will not only deal with credit contracts but also with surety agreements, including consumer guarantees. The latter will for the first time undergo harmonisation at EC level, and this will be in the form of total harmonisation. However, the Commission never undertook serious comparative analysis of the Member States? protection of consumer guarantors, and the proposal does not take account of the existing levels of protection. In contrast, the proposed protective instruments are incomplete and rather weak, and thus they would considerably reduce the protection of the guarantors in various Member States if the Directive disallowed more stringent national rules.
Capacity and Capability in European Contract Law
Authors: Hesselink Martijn W.
Published: April 2022

So far, the concept of legal capacity is absent in the acquis communautaire on contract law. This article argues that a common frame of reference and an optional European code of contracts cannot do without rules on legal capacity. In the national contract laws of the Member States the main aim of the invalidity of contracts for incapacity has been the protection of persons against the consequences of a misjudgment of their own interests. This raises the question why the law should only protect persons who belong to a limited number of categories who are presumed not to be able to take proper care of their own interests. This article argues that under European contract law a person who has concluded a contract which is actually (extremely) unbalanced deserves equal protection. Such a ?fair price? rule would contribute to substantive freedom of contract as it would facilitate access to the market. Finally, this article questions whether European contracts should be enforceable if they contribute to severely undermining the capabilities of other people (e.g. child workers in sweatshops) to choose the lives they have reason to value.
Regulating Contracting Behaviour: The Duty to Disclose in English and French Law
Authors: Giliker Paula
Published: April 2022

The nature and content of any duty to provide information prior to contract is a matter which lies at the heart of European private law. It forms part of the acquis communautaire and is seen as a basic tool of consumer protection. It is not neglected in the proposed Common Frame of Reference which, in its third part, will produce Model Rules which, inter alia, specify the information which should be given before the conclusion of a contract. Yet, this is a topic in which one sees a particular common and civil law divide. The author uses English and French law to demonstrate differing approaches to this question, termed ?non-disclosure? by one system and ?l?obligation de renseignement? by the other. The reasons for this divide, in particular the forms of reasoning adopted by the courts, are examined and signs of overlap identified. It is suggested that only by first recognizing the diversity in approach can one move forward to find core principles which will reflect a common understanding of the moral, economic and political issues at stake.