Geopolitics and (Rule of) Law in the EU External Action

The paper discusses how geopolitics and law interact in the external action of the European Union. For this purpose, it examines the evolution of the EU enlargement, neighbourhood, and foreign (viz. CFSP) policies since Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The analysis shows that while each of those policies has been significantly recalibrated to bolster Europe’s security, resilience and strategic autonomy, they are also affected by increased transactionalism, inconsistent follow up, and member states’ self-serving obstructions. The ensuing disconnect between bolder strategic ambitions and haphazard delivery at the expense of the EU’s constitutional framework, questions the authenticity of the Union’s geopolitical awakening. The chapter contends that geopoliticizing the EU’s external action by deviating from its fundamental norms, including the rule of law, is self-defeating. The strategic autonomy that the EU aspires to presupposes an invigorated defence of its constitutional structures. The founding EU Treaties foresee mechanisms that are precisely designed to cohere geopolitical aspirations and legal integrity, EU interests and values, which ought to be mobilised.