The Interest Group
The European Society of International Law provides its members with an opportunity for on-going interaction with colleagues along thematic lines through interest groups. The interest group on “The European Union as a Global Actor” is an excellent addition to the existing ESIL interest groups, attracting members with an interest in issues such as the interrelationship between European and international law, and the role and responsibilities of regional actors in the international (legal) order. The group was approved in October 2011, following a proposal that was widely supported by the ESIL membership.
The Lisbon Treaty has fostered the role of the European Union as a global actor, and there are increasingly expectations for the EU to take action on the international plane, in particular in the light of global challenges and crises. This has not only raised important questions of European constitutional law concerning, inter alia, the allocation of competence between the EU and its Member States; it also necessitates further analysis of the EU’s role and responsibilities within the international (legal) order. What does a growing role of the EU on the international plane imply for the EU Member States’ external action and their interaction with non-EU states? What does it imply for international organisations? How does public international law continue to shape the EU and its Member States’ capacity to take external action? Does the EU as a global actor contribute to the development of international law, and, if so, how and with what effect?
Our interest group would like to provide a forum for wide discussion and collaborative work on those and related questions.
The Blog
This blog aims to be the central hub where the members of the Interest Group can find news about conferences, seminars, blog posts, and papers that concern the EU as a global actor.
The editor of the blog is Stian Øby Johansen, who can be reached via e-mail: s.o.johansen@jus.uio.no
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