Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution

Foreign affairs are 'border' affairs - in a geographical and a constitutional sense. They are traditionally subject to distinct constitutional principles, for the political questions posed might not be susceptible to legal answers. And yet: in our globalized world, the orthodox distinction between 'internal' and 'external' affairs has lost much of its clarity. The contemporary world is an international world - a world of collective trade agreements and collective security systems. The European Union - as a union of States - embodies this collective spirit on a regional international scale. But what is the relationship between this new European legal order and the old legal order of international law? When can the Union act on the international scene and, if so: how? Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution brings together a collection of outstanding essays on external relations written by one of the leading constitutional scholars of the European Union.Introduction; Part I. International Law and the EU Constitution - Normative Aspects: 1. On 'federal ground': the European Union as an (inter)national phenomenon; 2. On 'middle ground': the European Union and public international law; 3. The 'succession doctrine' and the European Union; 4. European law and member state agreements: an ambivalent relationship?; Part II. Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution - Vertical Aspects: 5. Federalism and foreign affairs: mixity as an (inter)national phenomenon; 6. Dual federalism constitutionalised: the emergence of exclusive competences; 7. Parallel external powers: from 'Cubist' perspectives towards 'naturalist' constitutional principles?; 8. The ERTA Doctrine and cooperative federalism; Part III. Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution - Horizontal Aspects: 9. External Union powers: competences and procedures; 10. External Union legislation: international agreements; 11. The 'treaty power' and parliamentary democracy: comparative perspectives; 12. External Union policies: a substantive overview; Annex. Foreign affairs provisions in the EU Constitution (selection).