Podstawa prawna sporów sądowych w odniesieniu do umów międzynarodowych zawartych przez Unię Europejską z Kazachstanem i Armenią

Abstract

In the context of inter-institutional litigation concerning the legal basis of the European Union acts which have a constitutional significance, cases which call into question the dividing line between the external action of the European Union in areas covered by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Common Foreign and Security Policy enshrined in the Treaty on European Union have become increasingly important following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. The two cases under review constitute a new stage in the dispute between the European Commission and the Council of the European Union concerning the appropriate legal bases for the conclusion and implementation of the “new generation” partnership agreements. In both cases, the Court of Justice of the European Union was called upon for the first time to rule on the demarcation between the competences falling within the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the competences falling within the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in the context of the implementation of one of these agreements, specifically with regard to the adoption of a decision under Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, by which the Council establishes the European Union’s position within the body set up pursuant to that agreement. The Court of Justice of the European Union therefore had to rule whether the position taken by the European Union with regard to decisions taken in an international body is to be determined by the Council unanimously or by qualified majority in accordance with Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This issue is of utmost importance as the decision-making system of the Council of the European Union depends on its determination.