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Breaking a Tradition: How Signing of Agreements Is No Longer a Matter for the Council

Insight

Abstract: The European Union has always concluded international agreements with third countries and international organisations as an integral component of its external action. In contrast to its predecessors, the Treaty of Lisbon introduced a uniform procedural framework for the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements in art. 218...

Who You Gonna Call? Insights from the ECJ’s Case C-551/21 on the Signature of International Agreements

Insight

Abstract: The current Insight analyses the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-551/21, which upheld the Commission's claim regarding its right to exercise the external act of treaty signature. The decision sheds light on the signature procedure outlined in art. 218 TFEU and adds to previous cases, clarifying the proper...

Nuances et limites de l’unité de l’UE dans sa réponse à l’invasion de l’Ukraine par la Russie

Highlight

Abstract: In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, the European Union adopted clear position under its Common Foreign and Security Policy. Yet, the EU has to deal with opposite state policies that illustrate persisting dissensions between its Member States. In the meantime, the international context forces the EU to face up...

The Human-centric Perspective in the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence

Insight

Abstract: The development of new emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, has sparked a scientific debate on their risks and benefits. This debate necessitates legal and regulatory considerations, particularly regarding the balance between technological growth and the protection of human rights. This Insight analyses the...

The EU and Russian Aggression: Perspectives from Kant, Hobbes, and Machiavelli

Insight

Abstract: This Insight examines the stance the EU should adopt towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the basis of the political thought of Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, and Niccolò Machiavelli. Taking as its starting point Josep Borrell’s comment that “we are too much Kantians and not enough Hobbesians” at the 2022 EU Ambassadors’...

Mutual Trust and EU Accession to the ECHR: Are We Over the Opinion 2/13 Hurdle?

Insight

Abstract: After more than forty years of discussion and a decade after the CJEU struck down EU accession to the ECHR in Opinion 2/13, negotiators provisionally approved a new version of the Accession Instruments in March 2023. This Insight examines how this new draft of the Accession Instruments has addressed the mutual trust concerns...

Sanctions and the Geopolitical Commission: The War over Ukraine and the Transformation of EU Governance

Insight

Abstract: As a result of the invasion of Ukraine, the Commission has been increasing its weight throughout the EU sanctions process. This transformation is visible in the formation, implementation and communication of sanctions. Formulation has become less member state-driven, implementation has undergone some steps towards centralisation, and...

The Preliminary Ruling Procedure 2.0

Insight

Abstract: The end of 2022 saw the publication of the proposal for reform of the preliminary ruling procedure, drafted by the Court of Justice of the EU. If the proposal goes through, it will bring about one of the most significant changes in the EU judicial system in its seventy years’ history. In this Insight, I start with an overview of the...

Five Surgical Strikes on the Treaties of the European Union

Insight

An Unusual Insight: A short premise by the Board of Editors. This is an unusual Insight. It does not look at the existing law of the Union but rather at its possible and auspicious development. It does not ad-dress only the scholarly world, but also the much wider circle of persons interested in the future of the Union. In spite of this feature, or...

Simple Abstention and Constructive Abstention in the Context of International Economic Sanctions: Two Too Similar Sides of the Same Coin?

Insight

Abstract: Constructive abstention, provided for in art. 31(2) TEU, has been conceived of as an instrument applicable to CFSP acts. As art. 215 TFEU establishes an integrated regime in which CFSP decisions and TFEU regulations are interdependent on each other, the issue arises as to whether the scope of constructive abstention can be extended to...

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