Academic literature on the topic 'European Union countries – Foreign economic relations – Law and legislation'

The subject of the study is the coverage of problematic issues and ways of reforming the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine in the context of European integration. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is a dialectical method of scientific knowledge, through the application of this method the legal, functional, organizational and procedural aspects of methodological approaches to the understanding of problematic issues are considered and the ways of reforming the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine in the context of European integration are considered. The results of the article analyze the current criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine and the legislation of the countries of the European Union. When analyzing the French criminal procedure, two main features can be identified, which distinguish it from the Anglo-Saxon legal system and are criticized by experts from Great Britain and the United States. In France judges are vested with considerable powers. The first feature of French criminal procedure is the institution of preliminary interrogation of the accused by the presiding judge. The judge verifies the sufficiency of the evidence for a conviction. Conclusion. So, based on the above, it is possible to conclude that the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine was created in the spirit of democratic values, but some of its norms need to be reformed in order to improve the mechanism of protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of an individual. The practical experience of France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Great Britain is relevant. The shortcomings of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine are highlighted. The prospects for their reform are outlined and amendments to the current legislation in the context of European integration are proposed. Prospects for further research: a) the study of the experience of individual foreign countries in the context of the improvement of criminal procedural norms; b) analysis of the possibility of harmonization of criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine with the norms of the European Union; c) development of an effective mechanism of relations between the subjects of criminal proceedings. The issue of the relevance and admissibility of evidence is also important. Articles 87-89 of the CPC of Ukraine establish the grounds and procedure for declaring evidence inadmissible. However, judicial practice shows a large number of criminal proceedings against public persons, which the court had to terminate due to the lack of evidence, due to the inadmissibility or improper nature of the evidence. The authors believe that the legislative regulation of the process of collecting evidence in the UK is a positive experience for Ukraine.

Introduction. The article presents the analysis of legal regulation on the agricultural market of the European Union. The high growth of international economic integration, contributing to the intensification of interstate cooperation for the simplified movement of goods and services induces the harmonization of regulatory and legislative frameworks to develop uniform mechanisms of legal regulation. The diversification of agricultural exports should be considered as one of the highly promising, priority and sustainable trends of agricultural policy. EU law requirements must be taken into account by organizations engaged in foreign economic activities of food supplies. The article gives the updated analysis of the Eurasian Union regulatory framework in the sphere of agricultural products. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study comprises the universal dialectic method of scientific knowledge, general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, analogy, induction, deduction, modeling, etc.), particular scientific (logical-legal method, comparative legal method of systemic analysis, etc.). Methods of content analysis of legal documentation, allowing to study key trends in the legal regulation and policies of the European Union in relation to the agricultural market were also used.The results of the study. The conducted analysis revealed that there is a confusing situation in the European Union legislation about the agricultural market. The exceptional attitude to agriculture in the European Union legislation was widely under-mined, which led to serious consequences not only for the interpretation of agricultural provisions in EU law, but also for the legal provisions about the agricultural market in other countries. The article also analyzes the changes in legislation that pave the way for a deeper understanding of agricultural law in the European Union after the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty.Discussion and conclusion. Since 1974, the European Union has developed a wide range of legislative provisions related to agriculture. Pursuant to EU treaties, animals are recognized as living creatures, and therefore the EU and Member States must take due care of animal welfare requirements preparing and implementing policies in agriculture or on the domestic market. Currently, EU legislation on the welfare of farm animals contains specific provisions for the cultivation of poultry, calves and pigs, as well as to all types of agricultural machinery and livestock slaughter. Nevertheless, there are contradictions between the EU Member States stemming from the legal regulation of the common agricultural market in the European Union.The author concludes that the EU food law is comprehensive and aimed to provide consumers with safe and high-quality products, subject to timely and comprehensive information about possible risks. Taking into account the experience of the European Union in the development and correction the relevant legislative system will significantly increase the effectiveness of the measures to increase the export potential of domestic products.

The subject of the study. A new public administration system in Ukraine should be created through administrative reform. The existing system of public administration in Ukraine remains generally inefficient, with an eclectic mix of institutions inherited from the Soviet era and new institutions formed during Ukraine's independence. It is argued that the rapid development of modern social relations naturally causes and is conditioned by the continuous transformation and progress of various sectors of public and state life. Scientific and technological progress, informatization and updating of production methods cause an objective need to revise and adopt fundamentally new legislation, study and implement advanced forms of organization of social relations. It is clear that the construction industry is a component of the national economy, which requires meaningful legal regulation, does not stay away from modern social and state development. The complexity and significance of the construction industry, its multifaceted nature require, in particular, the study and implementation of perfect regulatory mechanisms developed by developed countries with highly developed economies, strong and perfect standards of functioning of the state apparatus, legislation. Methodology. The national construction legislation was reviewed in comparison with the experience of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is concluded that the review of the institutional architecture of the construction industry of the Federal Republic of Germany, the basic principles of the formation of German public construction law as a factor of the modern economy, its progressive forms and methods has been carried out. The content of this branch of public law, its impact on economic processes in the state, the formation and change of the main economic indicators are assessed. The conclusion is made about the objective connection between the state and development of national legislation, in particular construction legislation, and the degree of economic development of the state. The purpose of the study. By choosing the strategic path of institutional and fundamental reforms, Ukraine also implements the best legal and state experience of modern progressive states with developed democracy, state-building and law-making, developed economy. In the field of law and law-making, improvement of legal education and science the experience of the Federal Republic of Germany has proved its perfection, efficiency and progressiveness for Ukraine. German public construction law is not the only area that has become a model for domestic public law and legislation, in particular, it is worth mentioning the German experience of administrative procedure law and legislation, which was used in the adoption of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, and administrative procedure law and legislation, which was the basis for the preparation of the Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Procedure". Thus, the time-tested and experienced German administrative and legal theory has become one of the prerequisites for the creation and development of national branches of public law, including the law of public construction. The economic and legal dimension of public construction law in Ukraine is that the construction industry is a productive sector of the economy, the efficiency and successful functioning of which depends on a simultaneous set of factors, including, in particular, the availability and completeness of national construction and administrative and procedural legislation, the development of the theory of public construction law, transparency and validity of the activities of administrative bodies in the field of construction. Conclusion of study. It is concluded that the new branch of national special administrative law – publicc construction law of Ukraine is manifested in three dimensions: the substantive dimension of national public construction law and the prerequisites for its formation and further development; European (foreign) experience of legal regulation of public construction; economic and legal dimension of its creation in Ukraine.

A European Union (EU)-wide screening regime entered into force in October 2020, marking the turning point in the Member States’ investment relations with third countries, most notably, the emerging economies of the Far East. Most Central and Eastern European (CEE) states have recently embraced novel screening solutions; some legislative proposals are still pending in a few states. These regulatory changes are the result of the socio-economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, which threatens a major fire sale of resources that are deemed critical for the Member States’ national security and public order. In this paper, the authors examine the existing screening mechanisms regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) in five EU countries: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, and Poland. Given the apparent lack of comprehensive FDI screening mechanisms in Croatia, the authors consider that the findings of this comparative analysis could help Croatian legislator establish a comprehensive legal regime for FDI pouring into Croatian strategic industries. This paper argues that Croatia should introduce novel screening mechanisms along the lines of the Germanic legal tradition, most notably, the CEE and the German foreign trade and payments law. The authors suggest potential solutions de lege ferenda that would fit the scope and objectives of the screening regulation. Following the introduction, the second section of the paper glances through FDI screening mechanisms in four CEE countries. In the third section, the paper revisits the existing Croatian legislation on FDI control. The fourth section considers possible amendments thereof within the context of the German foreign trade and payments law. The fifth section summarises and concludes the paper.

The paper is devoted to the coverage of current changes and de-Sovietization of legislation in the field of labor, namely: a comparison of the legislative regulation of the employment contract in accordance with the Labor Code and the draft law "On Labor" published on the website of the Ministry of Economy. The author analyzed the provisions of the legislative regulation of legal relations arising between the employee and the employer: content, forms, conditions, grounds for termination and suspension of employment contracts, and comparison of existing and proposed rules. It is emphasized that the intensive development of labor relations and European integration "require" a clear, flexible, and understandable legislative regulation of labor relations, in particular in terms of proper social protection of workers, ensuring wages and labor rights of the latter at a decent, European level, in accordance with the conventions of the International Labor Organization, and the importance of labor unions. The works of legal scholars in the field of labor law, who spoke on this topic, were used and analyzed. The experience of other European countries, their path as a candidate country, legislative regulation of the labor sphere and foreign research on the labor market, as well as statistics of domestic institutions for the period 2021-2022, were used. Attention is drawn to the importance of social dialogue between employers, employees and trade unions. The conclusion is made about the need to finalize the draft law, which should meet the latest needs of modernity, the vector of the post-war development of Ukraine, its socio-economic doctrine, legislative acts of Ukraine, Conventions of the International Labor Organization and Directives of the European Commission, and the need for a new Labor Code, not the Law of Ukraine "On Labor".

The article deals with the relation of the law and departmental law-making in France according on three types: the unity, “spreading”, the openness of the law-making process. The first view of the law-making in France is the unity in the framework of which the question of ensuring the unity of the European Union is developed. Particular attention is paid to the government’s management of the legislative process, the government authority to issue by-laws, the procedure of drafting legislation and decrees of general importance. The second type of realization of law-making in France — outside the Government activity law-making — “spreading”. The impact on the performance of law-making is revealed, new sources of law-making such as acts of European Union are marked, independent state bodies, local self-government. Particular attention is paid to such new phenomena as the legal normativity soft law (“soft law”, “droit souple”). Regarding the third kind of the law-making — the openness — it is noted that the process of law-making is not limited to the relationship between the Government and the Parliament, and all sectors of society and interest groups are involved in that process. It is noted that the amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 2008, resulted in a significant reform of the legislative production. When writing this article except for general scientific research methods (analysis and synthesis), the author has used the formal-logical, theoretical, systematic legal, historical and comparative law. Scientific novelty of the work lies in the comprehensive and systematic approach to the study of the relation of the law and guided-governmental lawmaking in France, which is conducted in three species. Analysis of the development of the main types of law-making in France and law inforcement practice at the present stage is of great scientific and practical importance. The research results can be taken into account in the development of proposals for the implementation in the Russian Federation of new approaches in law-making, adequate to modern socio — economic development of the country, relevant to the international-legal standards and the experience of foreign countries.

Nowadays, the law is being transformed as a regulator of relations. The idea of strengthe-ning the regulatory role of technologies in the field of streamlining public relations is making much headway in the world. This trend is most pronounced in the area of regulation of private relations. The way of such access to the market as crowdfunding is becoming increasingly widespread. The issuing of the so-called secured tokens is becoming popular for both small businesses and private investors. The trust in new ways of attracting investments is condi-tioned by the applied technology - the use of blockchain as a decentralized transparent data-base management system. Under these conditions, there is such a phenomenon as the democ-ratization of property relations. Every individual receives unlimited opportunities to invest via technologies. Thus, legal scholars all over the world face the question about the role of the law and law in these relations? We believe that we are dealing with such a worldwide trend of regulating public relations as the socialization of the law. Specific examples of issuing tokens in Russia and abroad show the main global trends in the transformation of private law. The platformization of economics leads to the tokenization and democratization of property relations. In this aspect, the aim of lawyers should be to create a comfortable legal environment for the implementation of projects aimed at democratizing property relations in Russia. The socialization of private law is aimed at achieving social jus-tice and is manifested in the creation of mechanisms to protect the rights of the weak party and rules to protect private investors. Globalization requires the study of both Russian and foreign law. To confirm their hypothesis, the authors conducted a detailed analysis of the legislation of Russia, Europe and the United States to identify the norms allowing to see the process of socialization of law in the above field. The generalization of Russian and foreign experience showed that when searching for proper legal regulation, the states elect one of the policies. In some countries, direct regulation of ICOs and related emission relations are being created, in others, it is about the extension of the existing legislation to a new changing tokenization relationship. The European Union countries are seeking to develop common rules to create a regulatory environment to attract investors to the crypto industry and protect them. Asian countries are predominantly developing national legislation in isolation from one another, but most of them are following a unified course to encourage investment in crypto assets while introducing strict rules against fraud on financial markets. The emphasis on the protection of the rights of investors or shareholders, token holders by setting a framework, including private law mechanisms, can be called common to all approaches. This is the aim of private law on the way to social justice.

The policy of Ukraine for the establishment and development of relations with the European Union began in 1993, was carried out all the years of Ukraine’s existence, and received intensive deepening with the beginning of the formation of an international treaty – the Association Agreement, which includes a list of legal, social, economic, and technical regulations, and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), in 2014 and its final signing in 2017. Political and economic objectives of the Agreement are of fundamental importance to the future of both Ukraine and the whole European region. The political goal is to implement European standards on the territory of Ukraine. This implies the introduction of fundamental European values, namely democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and the standards of the European security system. The Agreement does not foresee membership in the European Union, however, does not exclude such an opportunity in the future. The economic goal is to help to modernize the Ukrainian economy by expanding trade volumes with the EU and other countries, as well as reforming economic regulation mechanisms in line with the best European practices. Subject to the improvement of the business climate, Ukraine will become attractive for foreign and domestic investment for further production for export to the EU and other markets of the world. Harmonization of standards and European regulations has become a much more important process than the fulfilment of strictly technical requirements and underlies the introduction of effective governance without corruption. In the process of harmonization of interaction, an adaptive institutional mechanism was formed (the highest level – annual Summits; the key coordinator is the Association Council, consisting of members of the Council of the European Union and members of the European Commission, and members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; the level of operational coordination – the Association Parliamentary Committee, which includes members of the European Parliament, representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and the Civil Society Platform; in order to coordinate processes on the territory of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has introduced a few supervisory committees and commissions). The harmonization of the economic aspect of the mechanism has been determined in solving issues of openness of markets for duty-free import from Ukraine in April 2014, obtaining a visa-free regime with the EU, abolishing export-import tariffs, implementing European technical standards for food safety, phytosanitary norms, competition policy, service provision, and public procurement policy. The issues of further deepening of relations include a review of the terms for the introduction of regulations and legislative provisions before their actual implementation, stabilization of financial and economic processes in the country, and further development of democratic values and social institutions.

The paper is devoted to the disclosure of certain aspects of recodification in Ukraine, some existing problems of the Ukrainian commercial law as well as the conflict of norms between the Commercial Code of Ukraine and the Civil Code of Ukraine. In year 2020, the Concept of Civil Legislation Reform was adopted in Ukraine. The Concept of Civil Legislation Reform states that the systematic renewal of the Civil Code of Ukraine as a whole is possible only if the Commercial Code of Ukraine is repealed because the latter does not meet the parameters of the acts governing business relations which, by their nature, are primarily private. The presented study explains the current problems of the Ukrainian commercial law as well as civil law regulation of business relations for both: 1) the foreign scholars dealing with the civil law and commercial law; 2) the foreign investors (including investors from the European Union countries) who are already conducting economic activities in Ukraine or plan to invest in the Ukrainian economy. Special attention is given to such issues like the types of ownership, penalties for obligations, differences in legal capacity, difference of approaches to the system of legal entities, existence of some archaic legal forms of entrepreneurial activity, etc. The author emphasizes that undoubtedly the Commercial Code of Ukraine as well as the Civil Code of Ukraine need some updating. There is an urgent need to systematize the existing organizational and legal forms of legal entities and to renew the basics of civil law regulation in Ukraine. It is explained in the paper, while in most neighbouring jurisdictions steps are being taken to systematic update of the commercial codes (including expanding the scope of their legal regulations), in Ukraine steps are being taken to eliminate the commercial code. This seems completely unacceptable; it harms the legal regulation of business relations in Ukraine significantly and slows down the progressive development of the Ukraine’s economy. The analysis of the commercial codes abroad shows that there is no single approach to the list of legal constructions that should form the basis of the relevant code. All, without exception, codified acts of this type are characterized by the presence of special institutions that, from the point of foreign lawyer’s view or current trends in private law, may seem do not meet certain standards.

According to the Concept of Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020, in the next few years the imbalance in world trade, as well as capital flows, will continue to increase, which will lead to changes in foreign exchange rates. That is why the final goal is to promote priority national interests in the framework of bilateral and multilateral trade and economic relations with foreign countries. In pursuit of this goal, the following improvement of customs regulation, and export and currency control mechanisms in the Russian Federation will be aimed at reducing barriers to foreign economic activity of innovative enterprises. Achievement of the set goals today is subject to the influence of a constantly changing world and new technologies. New technologies are increasingly penetrating the life of modern society. Meanwhile, the speed of introduction of new technologies is such that point changes in current legislation will gradually nullify the effectiveness of legal regulation as a system. Therefore, the changes today should concern not only the monetary and financial sphere, but also take into account other areas. The article is devoted to the study of crucial problems of implementing modern technologies from the legal point of view. Thus, at the international level, uncertainty still remains over issues of currency and legal responsibility, which is largely due to various legal regulations. Starting in 2018, the new rules for calculating the liquidity of banks and the ratio of borrowed funds to assets will come into full force in the European Union. Several large banks in France, dissatisfied with the policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), even appealed to the European Court of Justice for a change in the rules. According to FxPro analysts’ reports, economic growth in Europe has accelerated slightly, and the ECB is on the verge of abandoning its ultra-easy monetary policy in the direction of neutral and is preparing for further tightening. One of the subjects of the research is the system of monetary relations from the point of view of analyzing the problems of ensuring its stability, including criminal and legal means. The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate how to protect the domestic foreign exchange market and the challenges facing the monetary system today. The article has been prepared on the basis of legal and technical analysis of legal norms, as well as comparative legal and formal logical methods and system analysis methodology. In the authors’ view, this could contribute to a uniform approach to the problem, without which it would be extremely difficult to achieve success. It is concluded that in view of new challenges facing the global economy and the emergence of cryptocurrency, it is necessary to rethink the phenomenon of currency crimes, to study the experience of combating monetary crimes in other countries and to evaluate the common mechanisms for combating currency crimes. However, this approach cannot be considered legitimate insofar as different interpretation of the same term in different branches of legislation does not allow full realization of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. After all, branches of legislation do not exist in isolation from one another, but are interrelated. It is concluded that the person conducting proceedings in a case can and is obliged, based on an analysis of the circumstances under consideration, to proceed from a comprehensive assessment of the category used in making the decision as applied to its understanding in aggregate in various branches of legislation. It is also necessary to create a universal state database for judges, prosecutors, investigators, etc., which would allow free cross-sectoral information exchange on the same subject. The new digital economy also requires retraining of civil servants and state employees, including the judiciary branch of government. At the same time, the article deals with the transformation of the legal profession in the future. It is concluded that classical legal education will not sink into oblivion. However, the lawyers of the future will play a slightly different role, namely, they will act as machinists, builders, operators and inventors of a useful model of legal relations for robot judges.

Defence date: 21 December 2021
Examining Board: Professor Hans – W. Micklitz, European University Institute (Supervisor), Professor Martijn W. Hesselink, European University Institute, Professor Anna Beckers, Maastricht University, Professor Fernanda Nicola, Washington College of Law.
This doctoral dissertation examines the EU consumer perspective on externalities of production in global value chains (GVCs). Whether as part of the discourse on development or global economic governance, externalities of production are a long-standing issue that has been problematised not only by lawyers but also by economists, anthropologists, sociologists and social scientists at large. In the legal field, the analysis has struggled to contextualise consumer law and policy together with the peculiarities of GVCs as a distinct model of business organisation characterised by contractualisation of processes of production. The thesis argues that contractualisation of production establishes a relationship between consumers and processes of production, also in relation to externalities. Such a relation is not mirrored either by the voluntary self-regulation through which enterprises regulate externalities nor by EU consumer law. The present dissertation addresses this matter and argues that EU consumer law limits the involvement of consumers in the process of self-regulation that leading enterprises of GVCs undertake to prevent and/or remedy externalities of production and that results into a unilateral exercise of epistemic authority. The exercise of epistemic authority is favoured by a ‘communication paradigm’ framing EU consumer law, according to which consumer claims’ on sustainability and externalities of production depend on the content of the communication consumers receive prior or via the contract. This paradigm prevents consumers involvement, in all phases of the contractual relationship, in the definition of a legal episteme of sustainability in line with the core constitutional principles and values as enshrined in the EU Treaties and constitutional charters of member states. The final part of the thesis suggests that the limits deriving by the communication paradigm can be overcome by the CJEU that, by relying on the principle of effectiveness can integrate the communication paradigm with a consumer perspective on externalities of production in the post-contractual phase.

Tax competition between tax sovereignties is a fact. We focus here on the international tax competition. Taxation is one of the tools of governance that States use to direct their policies. Tax authorities try to diminish the burden of their taxpayers to improve the national economic and social welfare. To aim this objective, Governments intensify the competitiveness of the domestic trade and/or attract foreign investments. Because every States share the same goal, Governments compete with each other on the tax field. This tax competition is qualified as beneficial on the one hand, and one the other hand---ever more often---the adjective used to qualify this competition would be "harmful". At first, this thesis exposes the situation of tax competition, presenting the opposing views and the concurring ones. Then, we look at the position of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and the position of the European Union on this issue of tax competition. Historic summaries explain the point of view of these two organizations that are the leaders in the fight against the "harmful" tax competition. Finally, we give subjective ideas to re-think tax competition in a fair way.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 1999.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) between the European Union and the Republic of South Africa, which was concluded in October 1999. In particular, the agreement is analysed in the light of the negotiating process between the parties, the contents of the agreement, the applicability of WTO law and the compatibility of the agreement with it and the Port and Sherry Agreement. Since the EU emphasised its aim to commence economic and development cooperation with other African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on a reciprocal basis during the negotiations for a successor of the Lomé Convention, the TDCA between the EU and South Africa had to be seen as a "pilot project" for future cooperation agreements between countries at different levels of development. The TDCA between the EU and South Africa is therefore not only very important for the two concerned parties, but could serve as an example for further negotiations between the EU and other ACP countries. Thus the purpose of this thesis is to examine the TDCA between the EU and South Africa from a wider global perspective. The thesis is divided into six Chapters: The first Chapter provides an introduction to the circumstances under which the negotiations between the EU and South Africa commenced. It deals briefly with the economic situation in South Africa during the apartheid era and presents reasons why the parties wanted to enter into bilateral negotiations. The introductory part furthermore presents an overview of the contents of the thesis. The second chapter contains a detailed description of the negotiating process that took place between the parties and shows why it took 43 months and 21 rounds of negotiations to reach a deal. South Africa's partial accession to the Lomé Convention and the conclusion of separate agreements such as the Wine and Spirits Agreement, are also analysed. Chapter three presents the various components of the TOCA and illustrates what the negotiators achieved. This chapter on the TOCA concludes with an evaluation of the Agreement and shows the potential benefits to South Africa and the EU. Since the Agreement had to satisfy international rules, the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and TradelWorld Trade Organisation (GATTIWTO) were of major importance. The EC Treaty, however, does not contain any provision that indicates whether, or how, an international agreement like the GATTIWTO penetrates the Community legal order. In Chapter four, accordingly, questions are raised regarding the extent to which the bilateral agreement between South Africa and the EU was influenced by the GATTIWTO provisions and how these rules were incorporated into the agreement. Furthermore, since the parties agreed on the establishment of a free trade area, this chapter deals with the question of in how far the TOCA is in line with Article XXIV GATT. In addition to the GATT provisions, the TOCA is also affected by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Therefore Chapter five deals with TRIPs in connection with the TOCA. The use of the terms "Port" and "Sherry" as the major stumbling block to the conclusion of the TOCA is analysed more closely. The final part, namely Chapter six, provides a summary of the results of the investigation. Furthermore, a conclusion is provided with regard to the question of whether the TOeA can be seen as an example for further trade relations between the EU and other ACP countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is gerig op die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms (TDGA) tussen die Europese Unie (EU) en die Republiek van Suid Afrika wat in Oktober 1999 gesluit is. Die ooreenkoms word veral in die lig van die onderhandelingsproses tussen die partye, die inhoud van die ooreenkoms, die toepaslikheid van Wêreldhandelsorganisasiereg en die versoenbaarheid daarvan met die ooreenkoms en die Port en Sjerrie-ooreenkoms ontleed. Aangesien die EU sy oogmerk van wederkerige ekonomiese en ontwikkelings-gerigte samewerking met ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-Eilande gedurende die onderhandelings vir 'n opvolger van die Lomé Konvensie beklemtoon het, moes die ooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika as 'n "loodsprojek" vir toekomstige samewerkingsooreenkomste tussen lande wat op verskillende vlakke van onwikkeling is, gesien word. Die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika is dus nie net baie belangrik vir die betrokke partye nie, maar dit kan ook as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere onderhandelings tussen die EU en lande van Afrika en die Karibiese- en Stille Oseaan-Eilande dien. Die doel van dié tesis is om die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewekingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika vanuit 'n meer globale perspektief te beskou. Die tesis is in ses Hoofstukke ingedeel: Die eerste hoofstuk bied 'n inleiding tot die omstandighede waaronder die onderhandelings tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika begin het. Dit behandel die Suid- Afrikaanse ekonomiese situasie onder apartheid kortliks en toon hoekom die partye tweesydige onderhandelings wou aanknoop. Verder bied die inleidende deel 'n oorsig oor die inhoud van die tesis. Die tweede hoofstuk bevat 'n gedetailleerde beskrywing van die onderhandelingsproses wat tussen die partye plaasgevind het en toon aan waarom dit drie-en-veertig maande geduur het en een-en-twintig onderhandelingsrondtes gekos het om die saak te beklink. Suid-Afrika se gedeeltelike toetrede tot die Lomé Konvensie en die sluit van aparte ooreenkomste soos die Port- en Sjerrieooreenkoms word ook ontleed. Die daaropvolgende hoofstuk bespreek die verskillende komponente van die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms en toon wat die onderhandelaars bereik het. Hierdie hoofstuk oor die Ooreenkoms sluit af met 'n evaluering daarvan en dui die potensiële voordele van die Ooreenkoms vir Suid- Afrika en die EU aan. Aangesien die Ooreenkoms internasionale reëls moes tevrede stel, was die voorskrifte van die Algemene Ooreenkoms oor Tariewe en Handel (GATT) van uiterste belang. Die EG-verdrag bevat egter geen voorskrif wat aandui óf, of hoé, 'n internasionale ooreenkoms soos GATTNVTO die regsorde van die Europese Gemeenskap binnedring nie. Die vraag oor in hoeverre die tweesydige ooreenkoms tussen Suid-Afrika en die EU deur die GATTIWTO voorskrifte beïnvloed is, en oor hoe hierdie reëls in die ooreenkoms opgeneem is, word dus in Hoofstuk vier aangeraak. Aangesien die partye ooreengekom het om 'n vrye handeisarea tot stand te bring, behandel hierdie hoofstuk ook die vraag oor in hoeverre die TOGA met Artikel XXIV GATT strook. Tesame met die GATT-voorskrifte word die TOGA ook deur die Ooreenkoms ten opsigte van Handelsverwante Aspekte van Intellektuele Eiendomsreg (TRIPs) geraak. Hoofstuk vyf behandel daarom hierdie aspek ten opsigte van die TOGA. Die gebruik van die terme "Port" en "Sjerrie" as die vernaamste struikelblok tot die sluiting van die TOG-ooreenkoms word ook deegliker ontleed. Die laaste gedeelte, naamlik Hoofstuk ses, bied 'n opsomming van die resultate van die ondersoek. Verder word 'n gevolgtrekking voorsien ten opsigte van vraag of die TOGA as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere handelsverwantskappe tussen die EU en ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-eilande beskou kan word.

Defence Date: 25 June 2010
Examining Board: Professor Marise Cremona, European University Institute; Professor Ernst Ulrich Petersmann, European University Institute; Professor Eileen Denza, University College London; Professor Markus Krajewski, University of Potsdam
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses

Defence date: 13 December 2017
Examining Board: Professor Marise Cremona, European University Institute; Professor Petros Mavroidis, Columbia University; Professor Marco Bronckers, Leiden University; Professor Pieter-Jan Kuijper, University of Amsterdam
The Laeken Council Declaration of 2001 committed the European Community to a constitutional reform that aimed at enhancing the legitimacy of EU governance through “more democracy, transparency, and efficiency”. In the area of Common Commercial Policy (CCP), the coming into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on December 1, 2009, responded to the Laeken Declaration with the most extensive reform in history and substantially amended applicable provisions on decisionmaking, scope of EU exclusive competence, objectives, and principles. Against the benchmark set out by the Laeken Council objectives, this study examines the law, practice, and quality of institutional change in CCP governance after Lisbon. To this end, the study advances a twofold comparative institutional analysis that is based on a transaction-cost approach to the understanding of legal, political, and informal institutions that govern the CCP and EU external economic relations more broadly. The study finds that the reallocation of horizontal competences among EU institutions through the empowerment of the European Parliament has generally decreased the process efficiency of the CCP. At the same time, it has markedly decreased the cost of political participation for public and private stakeholders and introduced increasingly effective democratic control to the now bicameral system that governs the CCP in the Lisbon era. Parliamentary involvement, moreover, has radically enhanced process and substantive transparency and opened a space for public deliberation of external economic policy. Opinion 2/15 of the Court of Justice of the European Union has, secondly, confirmed the Treaty-induced tectonic shifts in the allocation of vertical competences. It is argued that the Court’s Opinion sets incentives for a fundamental change of the institutional practice that governs the conclusion of EU external economic agreements. Ending the tradition of ‘mixed’ agreements in favor of ‘EUonly’ treaty conclusion would further approximate the achievement of all three Laeken Council objectives and render EU external economic governance more efficient, effective, representative, and legitimate. In order to fully employ the democratic potential of ‘EU-only’ CCP governance, however, such practice will require the reinforcement of national parliamentary engagement in that process.
The following chapters of this PhD thesis draws upon an earlier published versions: -- Chapter III 'EU External Economic Integration : Core Concepts, Multi-Level Games, and the 'Global Europe' Strategy' as an e-book 'EU preferential trade agreements : commerce, foreign policy and development aspects', Florence : European University Institute, 2013 -- Chapter IV 'The Lisbon Treaty reform of EU common commercial policy : law, practice, and political institutions' as an article 'Taking stock : EU common commercial policy in the Lisbon era' (2011) in the journal 'Aussenwirtschaft' and as a CEPS Working Document, 2011/345 -- Chapter V 'Opinion 2/15 : litigating institutional change in post-Lisbon external economic governance' as an EUI RSCAS WP 2017/23 'Reading opinion 2/15 : standards of analysis, the Court's discretion, and the legal view of the Advocate General' -- Chapter VI 'The 'Wallonian saga' and Opinion 2/15 : the case for 'EU-only' external economic agreements' as an EUI RSCAS WP 2016/58 'The signing, provisional application, and conclusion of trade and investment agreements in the EU : the case of CETA and Opinion 2/15' -- The Epilogue 'After 'the end of history' : reforming EU trade defence in the shadow of WTO law' as an EUI RSCAS WP 2016/37 'The vulnerability of EU anti-dumping measures against China after December 11, 2016'

Defence date: 3 June 2013
Examining Board: Professor Loïc Azoulai, European University Institute; Professor Marise Cremona, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Christophe Hillion, Leiden University; Professor Daniel Thym, University of Konstanz
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Constitutions of today do not merely address the salus populi anymore, the welfare of the people, but increasingly exhibit international ambitions. This is true in particular for the EU Treaties. To make sense of these developments, this thesis presents a comprehensive account of foreign policy objectives as a growing part of European constitutional law. It grasps these provisions as legal norms, discerns their legal force and functions, and situates them into the overall legal order of the state, the Union, and the composite 'European Constitutional Space’. It argues that for comparative constitutional law in general, the codification of foreign policy objectives suggests a step forward in the evolution of the role of the constitution: From limiting public authority to guiding it towards certain goals, both at home and in the world. For the EU in particular, this research advances a comparative constitutional perspective for the study of EU external relations, and adds a constitutional dimension to the 'normative power’ debate in the study of EU foreign policy. Drawing on established national doctrines on constitutional objectives from Germany, France and India, the thesis elaborates a common vocabulary for understanding foreign policy objectives across different jurisdictions. It adapts these findings to the pluralist context of the Union and its Member States, which closely intertwines both legal orders and foreign policies. It reveals that constitutional foreign policy objectives represent norms of constitutional rank which commit a polity to an active and 'normative’ foreign policy, serving principally as an interpretive lens through which public powers can be enlarged. As a feature peculiar to the EU context, such objectives help to channel the individual ambitions of the Member States through the Union framework towards a more coherent, albeit polyphonic, external action. Furthermore, the project feeds its legal findings into the debate on the EU as an actor in International Relations, drawing on the main IR theories to sharpen the analysis of these norms in inter-institutional struggles as well in long-term processes of identity-shaping, legitimation and socialization.

Defence date: 31 May 2010
Examining Board: Marise Cremona (Supervisor, EUI), Panos Koutrakos (University of Bristol); Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann (EUI); Ramses Wessel (University of Twente)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Coherence is a powerful rhetorical device that is prevalent throughout decades of EU external relations discourse and practice. There is intuitiveness to coherence, an implied sense of ‘good fit’ between the different elements of an all-encompassing system. Yet, any attempt to concretize coherence will open up a plethora of context-specific legal and political questions. The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a recent example of an external policy drawn up explicitly with the objective of achieving coherence across different EU and Member State external policies. Positioning the ENP in the legalhistorical context of political Union, this thesis first argues why coherence is an issue at all in EU external relations, and why law is integral to attaining the ever-enigmatic single voice of the European Union. Subsequently, the text examines the role of EU external relations law in attaining a coherent neighbourhood policy. It is argued that the innovative nature of the ENP for coherence lies beyond the narrowly defined legal sphere, but stems mostly from its hybrid composition of hard legal, soft legal and nonlegal policy instruments. It is concluded that from a purely EU-internal and institutional perspective, this approach was reasonably successful in involving different actors towards common objectives in the neighbourhood. However, coherence should be more than rhetorical gloss, and agreeing that a wide range of initiatives should be included in soft legal instruments is no guarantee for coherence in actual policy substance. To examine the latter issue this thesis then moves beyond the realm of legal inquiry, and employs content analysis to investigate the extent to which the ENP is substantively coherent between the different norms, actors and instruments this policy encompasses.

Examining Board: Professeur Marise Cremona, European University Institute (Directeur de thèse) Professeur Evelyne Lagrange, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (Co-directeur de thèse) Professeur Loïc Azoulai, European University Institute Professeur Yann Kerbrat, Aix-Marseille Université.
Defence date: 4 December 2012
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Les mesures restrictives sont des instruments privilégiés de l’Union européenne en matière de coercition pacifique des tiers à l’Union. Fruit de la pratique des Etats membres réunis au sein de la Coopération politique européenne, elles ne sont consacrées en droit primaire que depuis l’entrée en vigueur du traité de Lisbonne. Adoptées en réaction à certaines situations de crise internationale et dans le but de contribuer à leur résolution, les mesures restrictives peuvent avoir pour cible formelle des Etats tiers et/ou pour cible réelle des personnes physiques ou morales, et couvrent des domaines aussi variés que l’imposition d’embargos sur les armes, le gel des fonds et des avoirs financiers de certaines personnes, ou encore la rupture des relations diplomatiques avec l’Etat visé. L’étude des mesures restrictives de l’Union européenne comme instruments de participation aux mécanismes de réaction à l’illicite implique également de les replacer dans les cadres du droit international, selon qu’elles mettent en oeuvre des décisions du Conseil de sécurité de l’Organisation des Nations Unies ou qu’elles sont adoptées par l’Union européenne proprio motu. Aborder la question du fondement des mesures restrictives permet de montrer la déconnexion du droit interne de l’Union et du droit international public ; le premier régissant la compétence de l’Union, le second déterminant les conditions de sa participation aux relations internationales. Le régime des mesures restrictives de l’Union européenne s’accomode quant à lui difficilement de l’indifférence mutuelle de ces deux branches du droit et doit être pensé de manière dynamique, selon que l’on considère le régime général des mesures à portée étatique ou le régime spécial applicable aux mesures à portée individuelle. La présente analyse illustre la spécificité de l’apport de l’Union au développement progressif du droit international contemporain : organisation internationale participant à des mécanismes jusqu’alors réservés aux sujets primaires du droit international, l’Union européenne affirme son identité constitutionnelle au travers de ses mesures restrictives et participe de manière significative à l’évolution structurelle et matérielle des cadres classiques du droit des gens.

This article focuses on the criminal law characteristics of transnational crime, which has an extremely negative impact on the economic and social spheres of modern society in many countries. The provisions of international regulations on the definition of transnational crime and the reality of implementation of international agreements signed and ratified by Ukraine in terms of implementation in national criminal law of liability for crimes with transnational links have been thoroughly studied. In particular, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Agreement between Ukraine and the European Police Office on Operational and Strategic Cooperation and other international regulations on cooperation of member states in combating transnational crime were studied. The statistical data of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine are analyzed, which indicate the negative dynamics of the state of organized crime, which has increased over the last five years. The article presents official statistics, according to which in 2016 the share of organized crime amounted to 0.02% of the total number of crimes committed; in 2017 – 0.04%; in 2018 – 0.06%, in 2019 – 0.07%, in 2020 – 0.1% – which indicates an increase in the level of organized crime in general. An analysis of international regulations signed or ratified by Ukraine on the definition of transnational crime is carried out. The dispositions of the norms of the criminal legislation on detection of signs of crimes with transnational connections are analyzed. Crimes with signs of transnational crime have been identified under national legislation and the legislation of some foreign countries, on the basis of which their comparative characteristics have been made. It is established that some foreign countries also regulate the possibility of applying exemptions from criminal liability for similar criminal offenses under the domestic law on criminal liability. In particular, the norms of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Armenia are analyzed. The article identifies a list of crimes that may have signs of transnational crime. It has been established that the largest number of crimes that may have the characteristics of transnational crime are acts related to drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling, economic crimes, arms trafficking, smuggling and other closely related crimes. with border crossing and international criminal relations. On this basis, it is proposed to set out the disposition of Part 2 of Art. 201 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for liability for smuggling, taking into account the new qualifier for the commission of this act by criminal groups with transnational ties. In addition, the problem of the lack of definition of transnational crime at the legislative level in Ukraine, which prompts further research in this area, has been identified.