Advertisement

Foreign Policy Without Unilateral Alternatives?

EU Member State Interests and the Imposition of Economic Sanctions
  • Viktor SzépEmail author
Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

The intergovernmental character of cooperation in EU foreign and security policy often gives the impression that the Member States unilaterally pursuing their particular interests is an accepted form of behaviour. This chapter argues, however, that national governments are in fact seriously constrained by the current legal framework governing EU external action, in particular its regime for imposing economic sanctions on third countries or individuals. In this regard, it has serious implications that EU economic sanctions, despite having foreign and security policy objectives, cannot be separated from the principles underpinning the Common Commercial Policy. This link with an exclusive EU competence clearly sets the boundaries of Member State particularism and lays out the potential limits of deviations from EU law. Under this frame, unilateral Member State actions are only accepted if the strict conditions required by EU law are fulfilled. The aim of this chapter is to explore these conditions and the opportunities provided by them for the Member States to promote their national interests in the field of international economic sanctions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Beaucillon, C. (2013). Les mesures restrictives de l’Union européenne. Bruxelles: Bruylant.Google Scholar
  2. Bohr, S. (1993). Sanctions by the United Nations Security Council and the European Community. European Journal of International Law, 4, 256–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Cremona, M. (2012). The two (or three) treaty solution: The new treaty structure of the EU. In A. Bondi, P. Eeckhout, & S. Ripley (Eds.), EU law after Lisbon (pp. 40–61). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Eckes, C. (2009). EU counter-terrorist policies and fundamental rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. EEC Foreign Ministers. (1980a, April 22). Declaration by the nine foreign ministers on the question of the American hostages detained at the American Embassy at Tehran, Luxembourg. In C. Hill & K. E. Smith (Eds.), European foreign policy: Key documents (p. 318). London, New York: Routledge (2000).Google Scholar
  6. EEC Foreign Ministers. (1980b, May 17–18). Declaration of the by the nine foreign ministers on Iran, Naples. In C. Hill & K. E. Smith (Eds.), European foreign policy: Key documents (p. 319). London, New York: Routledge (2000).Google Scholar
  7. Eeckhout, P. (2011). EU external relations law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. EPC. (1982a, January 4). Communiqué issued on the occasion of the informal European Political Cooperation Ministerial Discussion on Poland, Brussels. In C. Hill & K. E. Smith (Eds.), European foreign policy: Key documents (p. 286). London, New York: Routledge (2000).Google Scholar
  9. EPC. (1982b, April 10). Statement on the Falklands, European Political Cooperation. In C. Hill & K. E. Smith (Eds.), European foreign policy: Key documents (p. 428). London, New York: Routledge (2000).Google Scholar
  10. European Parliament. (2009). European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs, Opinion on the legal basis of the proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with Usama bin Laden, the Al-Qaida network and the Taliban, JURI_AL(2009)430917.Google Scholar
  11. European Parliament. (2014). European Parliament recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case, 2014/2016(INI).Google Scholar
  12. Hill, C., & Smith, K. E. (2000). European foreign policy. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  13. Hillion, C., & Wessel, R. (2008). Restraining external competences of EU Member States under CFSP. In M. Cremona & B. De Witte (Eds.), EU foreign relations law: Constitutional fundamentals (pp. 79–121). Oxford, Portland: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
  14. Klamert, M. (2014). The principle of loyalty in EU law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Koutrakos, P. (2000). Is Article 297 EC a “reserve of sovereignty”? Common Market Law Review, 37, 1339–1362.Google Scholar
  16. Koutrakos, P. (2001). Trade, foreign policy and defence in EU constitutional law: The legal regulation of sanctions, exports of dual-use goods and armaments. Oxford: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
  17. Koutrakos, P. (2006). EU international relations law. Oxford: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
  18. Koutrakos, P. (2015). EU international relations law (2nd ed.). Oxford: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
  19. Kuijper, P. J. (2003). Implementation of binding Security Council resolutions by the EU/EC. In E. D. Wet & A. Nollkaemper (Eds.), Review of the Security Council by Member States (pp. 39–55). Antwerp: Intersentia.Google Scholar
  20. Kuijper, P. J., Wouters, J., Hoffmeister, F., De Baere, G., & Ramopoulos, T. (2013). The law of EU external relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  21. Kuyper, P. J. (1975). Sanctions against Rhodesia: The EEC and the implementation of general international legal rules. Common Market Law Review, 12, 231–244.Google Scholar
  22. Kuyper, P. J. (1982). Community sanctions against Argentina: Lawfulness under Community and international law. In D. O’Keefee & H. G. Schermers (Eds.), Essays in European law and integration (pp. 141–166). Deventer: Kluwer.Google Scholar
  23. Kuyper, P. J. (1993). Trade sanctions, security and human rights and commercial policy. In M. Maresceau (Ed.), The European Community’s commercial policy after 1992: The legal dimension (pp. 387–422). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.Google Scholar
  24. Lenaerts, K., & De Smijter, E. (1998). The United Nations and the European Union: Living apart together. In K. Wellens (Ed.), International law: Theory and practice: Essays in honour of Eric Suy (pp. 439–458). The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.Google Scholar
  25. Maresceau, M. (2009). Unilateral termination and suspension of bilateral agreements concluded by the EC. In M. Bulterman, L. Hancher, A. McDonnell, & H. Sevenster (Eds.), Views of European law from the mountain: Liber amicorum Piet Jan Slot (pp. 455–467). The Hague: Kluwer Law International.Google Scholar
  26. Martin, L. L. (1992). Institutions and cooperation: Sanctions during the Falkland Islands conflict. International Security, 16, 143–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Poli, S., & Tzanou, M. (2009). The Kadi rulings: A survey of the literature. Yearbook of European Law, 28, 533–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Portela, C. (2011). European Union sanctions and foreign policy: When and why do they work? London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  29. Portela, C. (2014). The EU’s use of ‘targeted’ sanctions: Evaluating effectiveness. CEPS Working Document. Retrieved November 7, 2017, from https://www.ceps.eu/system/files/WD391%20Portela%20EU%20Targeted%20Sanctions.pdf
  30. Randazzo, V. (2014). Article 346 and the qualified application of EU law to defence. European Union Institute for Security Studies Brief. Issue 22. Accessed November 2, 2017, from https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Brief_22_Article_346.pdf
  31. Rettman, A. (2016). Estonia joins US in passing Magnitsky law. EUObserver. Retrieved November 6, 2017, from https://euobserver.com/foreign/136217
  32. Rettman, A. (2017). Lithuania adds to EU momentum on Russia sanctions. EUObserver. Retrieved November 6, 2017, from https://euobserver.com/foreign/139907
  33. Schütze, R. (2015). European Union law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  34. Trybus, M. (2014). Buying defence and security in Europe: The EU defence and security procurement directive in context. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Van Elsuwege, P. (2010). EU external action after the collapse of the pillar structure: In search of a new balance between delimitation and consistency. Common Market Law Review, 47, 987–1019.Google Scholar
  36. Van Elsuwege, P. (2011). The adoption of ‘targeted sanctions’ and the potential for inter-institutional litigation after Lisbon. Journal of Contemporary European Research, 7, 488–499.Google Scholar
  37. Van Elsuwege, P. (2014). The potential for inter-institutional conflicts before the Court of Justice: Impact of the Lisbon Treaty. In M. Cremona & A. Thies (Eds.), The European Court of Justice and external relations law: Constitutional challenges (pp. 115–136). Oxford: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Social SciencesBudapestHungary

Personalised recommendations

Cite chapter