The EU’s duty of non-recognition and the territorial scope of trade agreements covering unlawfully acquired territories

Abstract

Recently, the international legality of the EU’s economic activity in unlawfully acquired territories has gained much salience. Claims are increasingly heard that the duty of non-recognition requires the inapplicability of trade agreements to unlawfully acquired territories. In this light, this article attempts a survey of the relevant EU practice by focusing on the case-studies of Palestine and Western Sahara. The main question examined here is whether the EU has acted in breach of its obligation of non-recognition by concluding agreements with third States that extend to unlawfully acquired territories. Overall, this article argues that there is a growing gap between EU identity rhetoric as a promoter of international law and its actual practice on the ground.