Book Review: Nicolas Levrat, Yuliya Kaspiarovich, Christine Kaddous and Ramses A. Wessel (eds.), The EU and its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements, Hart 2022

Bartosz Modzelewski

doi:10.21697/2026.15.1.09

Published: 2026-06-26

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)

Book Review: Nicolas Levrat, Yuliya Kaspiarovich, Christine Kaddous and Ramses A. Wessel (eds.), The EU and its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements, Hart 2022

Bartosz Modzelewski

Polish Review of International and European Law

Section: Reviews

https://doi.org/10.21697/2026.15.1.09

Abstract

T

The reviewed book ‘The EU and its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements’ offers, among other things, a clear and intellectually rich analysis of one of the most complex features of EU external relations: mixed agreements. Seen from this perspective, mixed agreements reveal the tension between the autonomy of the EU legal order and the role of the Member States in the international arena. The contributors demonstrate that this mixed nature should not be viewed solely as a technical or procedural anomaly, but as a structural expression of the dual legal and constitutional nature of the EU. The book also shows that this form of participation gives rise to recurring constitutional and practical difficulties, particularly regarding the delimitation of competences, the allocation of international responsibility, and the coherence of external representation. By situating the discussion within both doctrinal debates and institutional practice, the study makes a valuable contribution to scholarship on EU external action and explains why mixity remains a central issue in the law of the EU.

Keywords:

book review , European Union Law, mixed agreements , external relations, autonomy of EU law

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Modzelewski, B. (2026). Book Review: Nicolas Levrat, Yuliya Kaspiarovich, Christine Kaddous and Ramses A. Wessel (eds.), The EU and its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements, Hart 2022. Polish Review of International and European Law, 15(1), 253–263. https://doi.org/10.21697/2026.15.1.09

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