Foreign
affairs are 'border' affairs - in a geographical and a constitutional
sense. They are traditionally subject to distinct constitutional
principles, for the political questions posed might not be susceptible
to legal answers. And yet, in our globalized world, the orthodox
distinction between 'internal' and 'external' affairs has lost much of
its clarity. The contemporary world is an international world - a world
of collective trade agreements and collective security systems. The
European Union - as a union of States - embodies this collective spirit
on a regional international scale. But what is the relationship between
this new European legal order and the old legal order of international
law? When can the Union act on the international scene and, if so, how?
Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution brings together a collection of
outstanding essays on external relations written by one of the leading
constitutional scholars of the European Union.
