Restrictive measures adopted by the European Union from the standpoint of international and EU law

Restrictive measures remain one of the most important yet controversial elements of the foreign policy of the European Union. This article discusses the procedural and substantive aspects of the adoption and implementation of these measures within the European Union while paying particular attention to the important changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. These changes include arts 215 and 275 TFEU, providing, respectively, an express legal basis for and judicial review of restrictive measures against individuals or legal persons. Keeping in mind the Kadi cases, it also examines the co-ordination and interaction of the activities of the United Nations, the European Union and their respective members. After stressing the divide between the international legal order and European law, it examines the conflicts of obligations that the Member States of the European Union may face and the options open to them.