2019/01/01 by Graham Butler · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #European Criminal Justice and Data Protection #European Union Policy and Governance #European and International Law Studies #International Law and Aviation
paper · doi:10.5040/9781509925971
openalex publication_date 2019/01/01 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/25
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union is a highly exceptional component of the EU legal order. This constitutionalised foreign policy regime, with legal, diplomatic, and political DNA woven throughout its fabric, is a distinct sub-system of law on the outermost sphere of European supranationalism. When contrasted against other Union policies, it is immediately clear that EU foreign policy has a special decision-making mechanism, making it highly exceptional. In the now depillarised framework of the EU treaties, issues of institutional division arise from the legacy of the former pillar system. This is due to the reality that of prime concern in EU external relations is the question of ‘who decides?’ By engaging a number of legal themes, that cut across foreign affairs exceptionalism, executive prerogatives, parliamentary accountability, judicial review, and the constitutionalisation of European integration, the book lays bare how EU foreign affairs have become highly