Soft Law
The Informal Turn: Soft Law Regulatory Frameworks in EU External Relations?
The use of soft law in the external dimension of EU migration law has become particularly visible recently. However, this might be a sign of a more general path to soft regulation undertaken by the EU in external affairs. Through a survey of Memoranda of Understanding from 1974 to 2019, Ilaria Ronconi and Salvo Nicolosi explain that the EU has been increasingly relying on soft law arrangements, but its use differs across various policy areas, with major risks for the constitutional fabric of EU law, especially in the area of migration.
Ilaria Ronconi is an LLM student in European Law at Utrecht University.
Salvo Nicolosi is a RENFORCE Senior Researcher and Associate Professor in European and International Law at Utrecht University Law School.