With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Union (EU) acquired legal personality. It is therefore a subject of international law which is capable of negotiating and concluding international agreements on its own behalf.
These international agreements have legal effects in the internal law of the EU and the Member States. Moreover, the founding Treaties of the EU lay down the procedures by which the EU can conclude international agreements.
Definition
International agreements are the result of a consensus between the EU on the one hand and a third country or third-party organisation on the other hand. These agreements create rights and obligations for the European institutions and Member States. They become part of the European legal order on the date of their entry into force or on the date that they specify.
Legally, international agreements are secondary conventions and agreements and must therefore comply with the founding Treaties of the EU. However, they have greater value than “unilateral” secondary acts, i.e. acts adopted unilaterally by the European institutions (regulations, directives, decisions, etc.).
External competences of the EU
The external competences of the EU are defined in Article 216 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. The EU may conclude international agreements:
in the cases provided for by the founding Treaties;
where provided for in a legally binding act;
where the conclusion of an agreement is necessary in order to achieve one of the objectives of the EU, even in the absence of internal European legislation;
where the conclusion of the agreement is likely to affect common rules adopted by the EU in internal law. Thus, where the EU has adopted common rules for the implementation of a policy, Member States are no longer entitled to enter into obligations with third countries affecting those rules.