Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER)

Hosted by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, the Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER), established in 2008, is a forum for debate and an authoritative research interface between academia and practice dealing with the legal aspects of the role of the EU in the world.

Since the start of the European integration process, the legal orders of the EC/EU and the Member States have co-existed and been influenced by international law. Conversely, the EU is a regulatory superpower with a policy lead in many areas. But the EU has failed to pull its political weight in the world. New developments at the level of the EU treaties, secondary legislation and case-law create conflicts with the evolving international legal order.

CLEER has launched a research programme centred on the analysis of the reception of international law in the EU’s legal order, the projection of EU law on the international plane and issues of coherence and consistency in EU external policy-making and implementation. International experts from academia and practice will further the debate on these issues in workshops, seminars and conferences before disseminating their findings in working papers made available to a global public via the website of CLEER and SSRN. As such, CLEER’s ambition is to stimulate excellence in research, reflection and teaching in EU external relations studies in higher education institutions within and outside the Union and to promote innovative solutions to practical challenges to the external dimension of the EU’s legal order.

For more information visit the website of CLEER here.