Facultative Mixity in the Area of Freedom Security and Justice

This contribution investigates the extent to which facultative mixity as a dimension of EU external relation exists in the Area of Freedom Security and Justice. The analysis addresses two questions. Firstly, what role may facultative mixity play, in principle, in the afsj? And secondly, to what extent, and in which context, has the Council made use of facultative mixity in the afsj, in practice? The first part of the paper addresses the first question, by discussing the role of facultative mixity in the externalisation of the afsj (section 2). The second part responds to the second question, by analysing the existing practice concerning mixed agree- ments, focusing on the Council’s authorisation to sign international agree- ments related to the afsj (section 3).