The EU External Action: A Shared Policy under a Common Supervision

By Bruno Lebrun

We are launching a series of brief articles on the actions of the European Union in the international legal order, exploring the legal complexities surrounding its external action and its evolving role on the global stage.

In this first article, Bruno Lebrun goes back to basics and examines the EU’s competence to adopt restrictive measures, as well as the legal framework underpinning their use.

Since 2022, the European Union has emerged as one of the most active global actors in the field of sanctions. Faced with geopolitical paralysis at the United Nations, the EU has developed an increasingly sophisticated regime of autonomous restrictive measures. This raises a fundamental legal question: what is the legal basis grounding these measures, and how is this competence structured within the EU legal order?