In the light of these extent issues, the United Nations Convention of the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS)
1 emphasizes the importance of international cooperation in various
fields of the law of the sea. For this study, Art. 278 of UNCLOS has a peculiar
position. It refers specifically to the cooperation between International Organizations
(IOs). In the light of this provision, it seems that the role played by the European
Union (EU) with(in) other IOs and the international instruments directly and indirectly related to the law of the sea may assume a peculiar importance.
For instance, it is possible to refer to the participation of the EU in the United
Nations (UN); the International Maritime Organization (IMO); the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and many
Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). The role of the EU
takes on different levels. While the EU is a full-member (although with its peculiarities) in the FAO,
2 WTO
3 and 17 tuna and non-tuna RFMOs,
4 such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),
5 the EU keeps a
special observer status in the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
6 In other cases, the
EU does not have a formal status, such as in IMO, in which only the European
Commission (not the EU) has had an observer status since 1974.
7
Since the EU is not a sovereign State,
8 its degree of participation in the IOs
follows a complex mechanism and is determined at both the international and
European level. More precisely, at the international level, the EU’s involvement
depends on whether the IOs allow for the participation of such entity, and if they do,
to what degree such participation is permitted. At the internal level, the EU’s
capacity to participate in international institutions depends mainly on how legal
competences are divided between the EU and its Member States, which are either
1 United Nations, Treaty Series, Vol. 1833, No. 31363.
2 FAO Conférence, 26ème session, 26 November 1991 C 91/PV/19 at http://www.fao.org/3/aak684e.pdf, and Rapport de la Conférence, 26ème session, C 91/REP, pp. 128–129 at http://
www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/bodies/Conference_Reports/Conf_Rep_French/C91_fr.pdf.
3 Art. XI, par. 1 of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, adopted in Marrakesh
on 15 April 1994 and entered into force on 1 January 1995, 1867 UNTS 154.
4 For an overview of the relationship between the EU and the RFMOs, see https://ec.europa.eu/
fisheries/cfp/international/rfmo_en.
5 About the ICCAT, see Council Decision, 9 June 1986, On the accession of the Community to
International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, Official Journal (OJ) L
162, 18 June 1986.
6 UNGA Resolution, 3208 (XXIX), Status of European Economic Community in the General
Assembly, 11 October 1974 and UNGA Resolution, A/RES/65/276, Participation of the
European Union in the work of the United Nations, 3 May 2011.
7 Following an exchange of letters between the then President of the European Commission, Xavier
Ortoli, and Mr. Srivastava, at that time Secretary General of the International Maritime Consultative
Organization (IMCO, today IMO), on 28 June 1974, a cooperation agreement between the two
bodies that granted an observer status to the European Commission was concluded. See https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/HTML/?uri¼CELEX:52002SC0381(02)&from¼EN,
Allegato III.
8 Cf., Bengoetxea (2011), p. 449; von Bogdandy (2012), p. 761.
402
L. Riccardi
Sea (UNCLOS)
1 emphasizes the importance of international cooperation in various
fields of the law of the sea. For this study, Art. 278 of UNCLOS has a peculiar
position. It refers specifically to the cooperation between International Organizations
(IOs). In the light of this provision, it seems that the role played by the European
Union (EU) with(in) other IOs and the international instruments directly and indirectly related to the law of the sea may assume a peculiar importance.
For instance, it is possible to refer to the participation of the EU in the United
Nations (UN); the International Maritime Organization (IMO); the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and many
Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). The role of the EU
takes on different levels. While the EU is a full-member (although with its peculiarities) in the FAO,
2 WTO
3 and 17 tuna and non-tuna RFMOs,
4 such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),
5 the EU keeps a
special observer status in the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
6 In other cases, the
EU does not have a formal status, such as in IMO, in which only the European
Commission (not the EU) has had an observer status since 1974.
7
Since the EU is not a sovereign State,
8 its degree of participation in the IOs
follows a complex mechanism and is determined at both the international and
European level. More precisely, at the international level, the EU’s involvement
depends on whether the IOs allow for the participation of such entity, and if they do,
to what degree such participation is permitted. At the internal level, the EU’s
capacity to participate in international institutions depends mainly on how legal
competences are divided between the EU and its Member States, which are either
1 United Nations, Treaty Series, Vol. 1833, No. 31363.
2 FAO Conférence, 26ème session, 26 November 1991 C 91/PV/19 at http://www.fao.org/3/aak684e.pdf, and Rapport de la Conférence, 26ème session, C 91/REP, pp. 128–129 at http://
www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/bodies/Conference_Reports/Conf_Rep_French/C91_fr.pdf.
3 Art. XI, par. 1 of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, adopted in Marrakesh
on 15 April 1994 and entered into force on 1 January 1995, 1867 UNTS 154.
4 For an overview of the relationship between the EU and the RFMOs, see https://ec.europa.eu/
fisheries/cfp/international/rfmo_en.
5 About the ICCAT, see Council Decision, 9 June 1986, On the accession of the Community to
International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, Official Journal (OJ) L
162, 18 June 1986.
6 UNGA Resolution, 3208 (XXIX), Status of European Economic Community in the General
Assembly, 11 October 1974 and UNGA Resolution, A/RES/65/276, Participation of the
European Union in the work of the United Nations, 3 May 2011.
7 Following an exchange of letters between the then President of the European Commission, Xavier
Ortoli, and Mr. Srivastava, at that time Secretary General of the International Maritime Consultative
Organization (IMCO, today IMO), on 28 June 1974, a cooperation agreement between the two
bodies that granted an observer status to the European Commission was concluded. See https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/HTML/?uri¼CELEX:52002SC0381(02)&from¼EN,
Allegato III.
8 Cf., Bengoetxea (2011), p. 449; von Bogdandy (2012), p. 761.
402
L. Riccardi