This strongly interdisciplinary book provides a first tentative evaluation of the role that geopolitics plays in shaping the genesis and functioning of the law of EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It introduces the reader to the geopolitical context of the EU and of its main neighbours, as well as to the legal architecture of CFSP. The book then presents selected cases of the Unions action (or inaction) in CFSP since 2009. These show the key argument of the book: the law of CFSP is not entirely fit for purposes as it does not reflect the geopolitical reality of the continent. The book reflects on such geopolitical reality as it results, in particular, from the 2004 EU enlargement, and comments upon three key issues of the CFSP legal framework: issues of coherence, accountability, and effectiveness. With its fusion of law and geopolitics, the book will be invaluable for students of EU foreign policy and EU external relations law.

Dr. Luigi Lonardo is a lecturer in EU law at University College Cork, Ireland, and a visiting lecturer in European Foreign Security and Defence Policy at Sciences Po in Paris, France. Previously he has been a lecturer and visiting lecturer in EU law at Kings College London and at the University of Westminster. He has published articles on EU foreign policy in the European Law Review, the European Constitutional Law Review, European Papers, and the European Foreign Affairs Review.

Introduction.- Part I The Context.- The geopolitical context.- The legal context.- Part II Common Foreign and Security Policy after Lisbon.- Restrictive measures: constitutional issues, classification, judicial review.- Common Security and Defence Policy in Action.- The silence of foreign policy.- Part III The key themes.- Between law and geopolitics.- Conclusion.