EU External Relations Law : Text, Cases and Materials

The first edition of this seminal textbook made a significant impact on the teaching of EU external relations law. This new edition retains the key hallmarks of that success. It offers a dual perspective, looking at questions from the EU constitutional law perspective (the EU as an international actor, competences, the role of the European Court of Justice); and the international law perspective (the effect of international agreements in the EU legal order, the relationship between WTO and EU law). A number of key substantive policy areas are explored, including international trade (CCP), security and defence policy, and justice and home affairs. Taking a text and materials approach, it allows students to gain a meaningful understanding of milestone cases and vital primary documents. The commentary, however, ensures that students are given interpretative and substantive guidance allowing them to properly position and digest these materials. Finally, each chapter ends with a section entitled ''The big picture of EU external relations law''. This innovation provides coherence to the diverse and complex material included and will stimulate critical discussion of the topics covered.

The first edition of this seminal textbook made a significant impact on the teaching of EU external relations law. This new edition retains the hallmarks of that success, while providing a fully revised and updated account of this burgeoning field. It offers a dual perspective, looking at questions from both the EU constitutional law perspective (the principles underpinning EU external action, the EU’s powers, and the role of the Court of Justice of the EU); and the international law perspective (the effect of international law in the EU legal order and the position of the EU in international organisations such as the WTO). A number of key substantive policy areas are explored, including trade, security and defence, police and judicial cooperation, the environment, human rights, and development cooperation. Taking a ‘text, cases and materials’ approach, it allows students to gain a thorough understanding of milestones in the evolution of EU law in this area, their judicial interpretation and scholarly appraisal. Linking these pieces together through the authors’ commentary and analysis ensures that students are given the necessary guidance to properly position and digest these materials. Lastly, each chapter concludes with a section entitled ‘The Big Picture of EU External Relations Law’, which weaves together the diverse and complex materials into a coherent whole and stimulates critical discussion of the topics covered.