KASPIAROVICH, Yuliya , LEVRAT, Nicolas , European Union mixed agreements in international law under the stress of Brexit , European journal of legal studies, 2021, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 121-150 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/72946
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
Since 1961, the EU and its predecessors have concluded many so-called mixed agreements with states outside of its community. On the EU side, such agreements are concluded both by the EU and by its Member States, acting jointly. This is a consequence of the principle of conferral, which sometimes limits EU capacity to act on the international stage. It also helps to clear up the evolving distribution of competencies between the EU and its Member States. If mixed agreements are consistent with the EU legal order, they constitute a peculiar and novel practice under general international law. Such agreements do not fit into any of the existing treaty law "categories", and the legal basis for the EU and its Member States' commitments under mixed agreements may appear problematic according to international law. Under EU law, the principles of pre-emption and sincere cooperation apply. However, Brexit has forced legal scholars to reconsider the issue under international law: what happens to a Member State's commitments under mixed agreements when it leaves the EU? According to international law, it should remain a party to such agreements, as a state bound by its international commitments. But how and under what conditions these agreements should be implemented remain open questions. We propose to investigate these legal issues with regard to the UK's commitments under mixed agreements in the context of Brexit.