The Legal Regulation of the European Community’s External Relations after the Completion of the Internal Market

Citation

Moore, M. (1998), "The Legal Regulation of the European Community’s External Relations after the Completion of the Internal Market", European Business Review, Vol. 98 No. 1, pp. 74-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.1998.98.1.74.5

This is the first volume of an EC/International Law Forum series commemorating a meeting held at the University of Bristol. The annual “round table” forum is intended to deal with themes of contemporary significance alternating between EC and international law. This volume covers the inaugural event in April 1994 and is made up of contributor’s essays. Some are written by lawyers, others written from a more political or economic perspective.

The book is divided into five parts with two to three essays in each part except part 5 which contains four essays. Part 1 surveys the legal developments in the Community’s external relations competence. Part 2 deals with the important area of the European Union and the GATT (WTO) while Part 3 deals with agreements between the European Union and Central and Eastern European Countries. The Lomé Conventions feature in Part 4 while the longest part deals with trade relations with the two other powerful trading nations, the USA and Japan.

This book like a number on the market are clearly‐aimed at those interested in the area following the Uruguay Round of the GATT. It is also appropriate that the area be studied since the EU forms the largest trading bloc with 45 per cent of world trade, much larger than the USA with 15 per cent. Because of its subject matter it is a mixture of political and economic overview with a good sprinkling of detailed legal analysis. It is not an undergraduate book for law students. The semester system as well as the traditional year long course probably does not allow an opportunity to delve into this complex and yet challenging area. Undergraduate students engaged in Third World Studies or European Studies might find respectively Parts 3 and 4 illuminating. I suggest this is much more likely to find its way on to a Postgraduate reading list where more specialist EU studies are possible.

The essays are generally well written and the balance between approaches makes for interesting reading overall. The footnotes back on to each chapter and vary in depth and coverage. There is a useful list of abbreviations, a necessary element in an area replete with acronyms. There are two minor criticisms. The first is the time taken for publication. Despite the need to wait for the decision of the European Court of Justice in Opinion 1/94 it has taken almost two years to publish. This does diminish the value of the work in an area which does change relatively quickly. The second criticism is that the essays are from a “round table” discussion of experts. With such a collection an overarching first essay really is necessary to introduce not just the chapters but also the main issues and background. Not all readers may have the same detailed knowledge of the experts. With this caveat this is a book well worth purchasing for the specialist reader or the library.