Lex Imperfecta: Law and Integration in European Foreign and Security Policy

This article aims to overcome the traditional image of the European Union’s foreign and security policy by revealing an integrationist undercurrent that is boosted by both internal and external developments. It argues that both internal and external drivers have caused a consolidation of EU foreign policy, as well as a constitutionalisation underlining that CFSP is part of the Union’s legal order. The aim is to note shifts and developments on the basis of new legal provisions (or new interpretations of provisions). It is argued that the treaty provisions as well as the case law of the Court point to an on-going integration and that even in the area of foreign policy EU nation-states have developed into Member States. At the same time, CFSP law remains lex imperfecta, as many logical next steps – for instance related to the role of Courts or the enforcements of CFSP norms – have not (yet) been taken.