Europe in the World Law & policy aspects of the EU in Global - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Law & policy aspects of the EU in Global Governance

Europe in the World

Matthieu Burnay, Nicolas Hachez, Kolja Raube Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies

Human Rights and the Rule of Law in EU External Relations

• Introduction
• EU External Relations: from legal principles to the question
• f power
• Human Rights in EU External Relations
• Rule of Law in EU External Relations
• Conclusions

Human Rights and the Rule of Law in EU External Relations

• Objectives of EU external relations are stipulated in the Treaty
• f Lisbon
• Transparent list of all EU external relations objectives in Article

21 Treaty of the European Union (TEU)

• Article 21 TEU: “The Union's action on the international scene

shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.”

EU External Relations: from legal principles to the question of EU power

Article 21 Treaty of the European Union:

“The Union shall define and pursue common policies and actions, and shall work for a high degree of cooperation in all fields of international relations, in order to: (a) safeguard its values, fundamental interests, security, independence and integrity;

(b) consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law;

(c) preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, with the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and with the aims of the Charter of Paris, including those relating to external borders; (d) foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries, with the primary aim of eradicating poverty; (e) encourage the integration of all countries into the world economy, including through the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade; (f) help develop international measures to preserve and improve the quality of the environment and the sustainable management of global natural resources, in order to ensure sustainable development; (g) assist populations, countries and regions confronting natural or man-made disasters; and (h) promote an international system based on stronger multilateral cooperation and good global governance.”

EU External Relations: from legal principles to the question of EU power

• Principles become objectives in EU external relations
• EU external governance (Schimmelfennig/Wagner 2006)
• Modelling the EU as a ‘power’ in EU external relations:
• Normative Power Europe

EU External Relations: from legal principles to the question of EU power

• Normative Power Europe (Manners 2002)
• EU external action based on a normative constitution (i.e.

Article 2 TEU, Article 21 TEU);

• EU external action shaped by what it is (community of values);
• EU external action and norm-diffusion through which the EU

spreads norms (beyond conditionality?);

• EU external action: power of example (challenge of coherence);
• Beyond ‘Normative Power Europe’?

EU External Relations: from legal principles to the question of EU power

• Human rights cut across all EU policies (internal and external)
• Framework of principles, policies and tools to deliver on the

EU’s constitutional human rights agenda

• Two documents aim to systematize the mainstreaming of

human rights in EU External Relations:

• Joint Communication of the European Commission and the High

Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on ‘Human Rights and Democracy at the Heart of EU External Action – Towards a More Effective Approach’ (12/12/2011, COM(2011) 886 final)

• Council of the European Union, EU Strategic Framework and Action

Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (25 June 2012, 11855/12)

Human rights in EU External Relations

• Challenges:
• Universality
• Implementation
• Coherence
• Globalization
• Objectives:
• Active
• Effective
• Coherent
• Roadmap:
• Joined up policy
• Partnerships
• Harnessing the

EU’s collective weight

Human rights in EU External Relations- The ‘Joint Communication’

• Strategizes those

broad orientations by identifying:

• 7 key principles
• 36 actions

implementing the principles

• Timeline for each

action (theoretical)

The Strategic Framework and Action Plan

• Specific human rights policies:
• Diplomatic actions (démarches, meetings, etc.)
• Restrictive measures in response to human rights violations

(ex.: asset freezes against members of the Syrian regime)

• Dialogues and consultations (ex.: EU-China human rights

dialogues)

• Multilateral engagement (ex.: Participation of the EU to the

UPR)

• European Instrument for Human Rights and Democratisation

Human rights in EU External Relations – in practice…

• Policies used as levers for human rights:
• Enlargement (Copenhagen Criteria include respect for human

rights)

• Partnerships and associations (ex.: ‘essential element’ clause

in Cotonou agreement with ACP Countries)

• Trade (ex.: human rights clauses in FTAs)
• Development (ex.: human-rights based approach)

Human rights in EU External Relations – in practice…

• The rule of law cuts across all EU policies (internal and

external)

• Renewed interest for the rule of law: Succession of rule of law

crises within the EU

• Diverse rule of law traditions within the European Union

(Rechtsstaat, Etat de Droit, rule of law)

• From a formal towards a substantive/value-oriented

perspective on the rule of law

• The EU ‘normative trinity’: Rule of Law, Democracy and Human

Rights

• Beyond the principle of legality
• No systematization

The Rule of Law in EU External Relations

• Challenges:
• Lack of clear definition
• A constructive ambiguity:

Rule of law, human rights, democracy?

• Universality or towards a

legal pluralism approach?

• Coherence

(internal/external and external/external)

• Objectives:
• Legal certainty
• New entry-point in EU external

action

Rule of law in EU External Relations – Challenges and Objectives

The EU Rule of Law Instruments at the Bilateral and Multilateral Levels:

• Soft instruments: conclusions, resolutions, declarations, statements,

non-legally binding guidelines, human rights dialogues, EU Special Representatives missions

• Legally binding instruments: positive and negative conditionality (e.g.

GSP and GSP+)

• Suspension clauses: systematic inclusion of clauses in bilateral

agreements

• Participation to International Initiatives: the rule of law as a priority

in the UN Framework; EU Rule of Law Missions (e.g. EULEX in Kosovo)

Rule of Law in EU External Relations – In practice…

• EU driven by principles laid down in the TEU
• Human rights and rule of law cut across all policies of the

European Union

• EU aims to systematize human rights, while the rule of law

remains less systematized

• EU aims to mainstream human rights and the rule of law into its

external policies

• Challenges remain evident in- and outside the EU
• Normative Power Europe: power of example or incoherence/

incredibility?

Human Rights and the Rule of Law in EU External Relations – Conclusions

Human Rights and the Rule of Law in EU External Relations – Further information

Matthieu Burnay, Nicolas Hachez, Kolja Raube Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies

• FRAME: Fostering Human Rights Among European

Policies

• ROLA: The Rule of Law – A Strategic Priority of the

European Union’s External Action