Regulation 2023/2675 - Protection of the Union and its Member States from economic coercion by third countries - Main contents

Official Journal

of the European Union

EN

Series L

2023/2675

7.12.2023

Pursuant to Article 3(5) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in its relations with the wider world, the Union is to uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens and is to contribute, among other things, to solidarity and mutual respect among peoples and the strict observance and the development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter (the ‘UN Charter’).

Pursuant to Article 21(1), first subparagraph, TEU, the Union’s action on the international scene is to be guided by principles such as the rule of law, equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law. Pursuant to Article 21(1), second subparagraph, TEU, the Union is also to promote multilateral solutions to common problems.

Pursuant to Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter, one of the purposes of the United Nations is to develop friendly relations among nations in accordance with, among others, the principle of sovereign equality.

Article 21(2) TEU requires the Union to define and pursue common policies and actions, and to work for a high degree of cooperation in all fields of international relations in order to, among other things, safeguard its values, fundamental interests, independence and integrity, consolidate and support the rule of law, and the principles of international law.

The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 24 October 1970, states that international relations are to be conducted in accordance with the principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention. That Declaration also provides, in relation to the principle concerning the duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, that no State may use or encourage the use of economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from it advantages of any kind, which reflects customary international law and is thus binding in the relations between third countries, on the one part, and the Union and its Member States, on the other. Moreover, rules of customary international law on State responsibility for internationally wrongful acts are reflected in the Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA), adopted in 2001 by the United Nations’ International Law Commission at its fifty-third session, and taken note of by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 56/83. Those rules are binding in the relations between third countries, on the one part, and the Union and its Member States, on the other.

The modern interconnected world economy increases the risk of economic coercion, as it provides countries with enhanced means for such coercion, including hybrid means. It is desirable that the Union contribute to the...