EU COVID-19 purchase and export mechanism : a framework for EU operational autonomy

Abstract

The burgeoning debate on EU strategic autonomy calls for an appraisal of the role of law in the pursuit of the EU’s strategic objectives. This article examines EU executive measures regarding procurement and free movement regulation of critical resources and vaccines in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. It introduces the notion of EU operational autonomy to account for the mixed operative framework governing the joint actions of the Union and its Member States.The article argues that this framework heralds new patterns of executive centralization whereby political motives increasingly inform legal structures. It identifies the internal and external facets of EU operational autonomy, and highlights the composite dynamics emerging from neighbouring country association to EU operational autonomy. The study of these dynamics also offers insights into the complex balance between the EU’s regional and multilateral commitments.