EU Sanctions: A Relevant Foreign Policy Tool?

Abstract:
This paper examines an instrument which establishes an explicit link between economic power and foreign policy of the European Union (EU): restrictive measures or sanctions. As the EU is increasingly confronted with situations requiring a firm response, sanctions – arguably the EU’s ‘hardest’ tool – have become somewhat of a standard reaction. To what extent are sanctions a relevant tool for EU external action? By looking at several case studies from a set of 47 autonomous EU sanction cases, this paper acknowledges the many internal and external difficulties the EU faces when using the sanctions tool. However, it also shows that despite those challenges, the ‘hard’ and coercive nature of the sanction instrument nevertheless make it a relevant foreign policy tool which allows the EU to react to external crises.

College of Europe: Study: EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies: Research Activities: EU Diplomacy Papers [PDF] https://www.coleurope.eu/sites/default/files/research-paper/edp_5_2014_borreschmidt.pdf

EU: EEAS: Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP): Sanctions http://eeas.europa.eu/cfsp/sanctions/index_en.htm

ESO: Background information: Has the EU lost the ability to enact sanctions? http://www.europeansources.info/record/has-the-eu-lost-the-ability-to-enact-sanctions/

---