Foreign Policy Objectives in European Constitutional Law

Reviews / Votes

Larik's work represents the most comprehensive and legally reasoned argument on the nature, legal force and value of EU's foreign policy objectives to date. By providing academics and practitioners alike with a legal framework in which to understand foreign policy objectives, it has the potential to shape the 'bounds of possibility' of the debate on EU's external action for years to come. * Teresa Cabrita, European Constitutional Law Review * To begin with, the book is a remarkable study in comparative law, dedicated to the phenomenon that "constitutions today increasingly exhibit a considerable amount of global ambitions" ... Foreign Policy Objectives in European Constitutional Law is also an excellent book about the distinctiveness of foreign affairs. ... Larik's book deserves to be considered as an authoritative voice in the field of European external relations law, as its multi-disciplinary analysis is rigorous, insightful and thought-provoking. * Luigi Lonardo, European Law Review * This is an intensely thought-provoking book, and the analysis of a wide range of theories and literature is rigorous and impressive. ... The extensive groundwork contained in this comparative research may pave the way for rigorous testing of the relevance of the shared foreign policy objectives to the actions - both successful and unsuccessful - which the Union has undertaken under the constitutional powers it now has to conduct a common foreign policy. * Eileen Denza, International & Comparative Law Quarterly * This timely analysis of the topic which has not been extensively explored thus far makes the book essential reading for everyone - students, scholars, policy analysts and decision-makers - interested in the EU's international relations, policies, actions and commitments. * Davor Petric, Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy * This book is a masterly application of comparative constitutional analysis, based on Larik's doctoral thesis which was itself a fitting winner of the 2014 Mauro Cappelletti prize for the best doctoral thesis completed at the European University Institute in the field of comparative law. The book constructs an innovative typology of foreign relations provisions in national constitutions as a basis for an analysis of the legal quality and the content of the EU's foreign policy objectives as expressed in the Treaties. A fascinating study in its own right, it provides essential analytical tools for those working in the fields of EU constitutional and external relations law. * Marise Cremona, Professor of European Law, European University Institute * A pioneering, compelling, and timely analysis of EU foreign policy objectives. A must read for anyone interested in the role of the EU and its Member States in world affairs. * Christophe Hillion, Professor of European Law, Leiden University * Larik's monograph is a truly outstanding piece of scholarship. His acute, in-depth, comprehensive, comparative, and multidisciplinary analysis of the EU's foreign affairs constitution will be a work of reference for decades. It is compulsory reading for anyone with an interest in the EU as an international actor. * Piet Eeckhout, Professor of EU Law, University College London * With the Lisbon Treaty in force for over seven years and the challenges that await the EU and its Member States' foreign policy, this book will shape academic thinking on the constitutional value of these objectives. Whether one is interested in a comparative analysis between the EU, States' and international organizations' constitutional approaches to foreign policy, the constitutional constraints and possibilities these objectives pose on the EU and its Member States, or a more theoretical discussion on the constitutional meaning of foreign policy objectives, this book will be a reference for years to come. * Laurens Ankersmit, Common Market Law Review *