Browsing by Subject "Informal International Arrangements"

The thesis focuses on the informalization of EU external relations, particularly regarding migration governance, due to the emergence of informal international agreements in recent decades to regulate the EU's relations with third countries in this regard. This trend challenges traditional international agreements and the safeguards they provide, notably compliance with EU founding principles, especially the rule of law as outlined in Article 21 TEU. The study aims to examine how informal arrangements may disregard the rule of law across its three dimensions - institutional, procedural, and substantive - by focusing on two case studies: the Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and Tunisia (MoU) (2023) and the Joint Declaration on Migration Cooperation between the EU and Afghanistan (JDMC) (2021). These cases offer practical insights into the shortcomings of informalization. Beginning with a theoretical exploration of informalization, including its advent, motivations, and benefits, especially within the EU and in migration governance, the thesis provides a definition of informal arrangements understood as alternatives to binding international agreements. It then examines the legal framework governing international relations and agreements within the EU, with a focus on the norms, principles, and procedures functional in understating what soft arrangements differ from, and which rules they bypass. This will be carried out by relying on the rule of law as guiding principles in its three dimensions. Subsequently, detailed analyses of the MoU and the JDMC are provided, covering their legal nature, contents, procedural aspects, and the protection of human rights afforded by them. Finally, the thesis also examines the limitations of using such arrangements and the consequences of a completely unregulated informalization. The main concerns being legal uncertainty, lack of a precise legal basis, potential arbitrary power of the Commission, sidelining of the Parliament and consequent lack of democratic accountability, lack of judicial oversight by the ECJ, and inadequate protection of human rights, being particularly concerning about migration and readmission, and lack of transparency that characterizes such arrangements, from their publication to the difficulty in accessing documents related to them. In the last part space will be also given to the assets that soft arrangements may bring like efficiency, flexibility, cost-saving, and timesaving as often praised by policymakers. Ultimately, it suggests the need to explore a balance between the imperative compliance with the rule of law and the benefits of informal arrangements, as current violations of the rule of law highlight the absence of such equilibrium for now.