The concepts of security and liberty in the framework of the European Union: the case of the EU’s external action

The concepts of Liberty and Security, both in a theoretical perspective and in view of their role in the formulation and implementation of virtually all policies in a modern polity, acquire a special place in the framework of the European Union. Taking into account the rapid development of a variety of EU policies that revolve around these concepts, this special place merits extensive attention. This is particularly important for the analysis of the development of a distinct foreign policy/external action of the EU, in the framework of which the concepts of liberty and security acquire a significant role.

This paper constitutes an attempt at an analysis of the role played by the concepts of liberty and security in the specific framework of the EU external action, with the focus being on the so-called second pillar of the EU, i.e. the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The relevant research conducted by the University of Athens and the University of Cologne, into the concepts of Liberty and Security respectively, in the framework of the CHALLENGE programme, has helped produce the present paper, with a view to providing a synthetic approach to this issue, using insights from the research groups of both Universities.

Thus, the first part will deal extensively with the concept of Security, its evolution and implementation, especially in the framework of the development of the foreign policy aspects of the European Community/Union. The second part will then analyse specific aspects of the concept of Liberty, first in the perspective of liberties and human rights promotion by means of the CFSP, and subsequently in the perspective of its restrictions, using the case-study of so-called ‘smart sanctions’ as a characteristic foreign policy/external action instrument of the EU.

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The concepts of security and liberty in the framework of the European Union: the case of the EU’s external action