Exploring EU Competence in CFSP: Logic or Contradiction?

Summary: This paper discusses questions concerning the conferral of EU Member States’ competences in foreign affairs to the Union and the consequences of such conferral. The importance of this question lies in
the need for an accurate definition of the nature of the CFSP. By showing that the Union possesses genuine competences in the CFSP area, and through a defi nition of the characteristics of this type of competence,
it will be demonstrated that the policy has moved beyond mere intergovernmental cooperation, and represents an intermediate stage between intergovernmentalism and supranationality. In light of the practice of targeting individuals by freezing their funds and assets, the paper also looks at the broadening of fi rst-pillar competences for economic sanctions, and attempts to predict possible developments in the CFSP area in the future with regard to the conferral of competence.

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