The need to counterbalance coercive effect of measures taken by third countries in breach of International law is undoubtful. It is however often difficult to clearly assess the legality of instruments based on international law, as a number of cases has clearly shown, such as Energy Charter Treaty based litigations against the EU.
It is therefore imperative that any new legislation allows for the Commission and the Member States to be fully involved in assessing whether and how the actions taken by third countries are indeed unlawful, and which provisions of the international law there are in breach of. Therefore, it is of crucial importance for any new legislation in this respect to guarantee that a legal impact assessment is prepared by the EU institutions and presented for scrutiny for the Member States, before any EU action is taken. This will allow for the EC, in cooperation with the Member States, and the European Parliament to carefully assess the legality and impact of the third countries unlawful actions, and to respond in a coordinated, legal based approach.
Read our feedback to the public consultation.