Some debate exists over the legal personality of the European Union. While the two communities that comprise the European Union, the European Community and Euratom, have legal personalties, the EU itself does not. The Treaty on European Union does not contain any provisions on the Union’s legal personality even though the Union includes two areas of intergovernmental cooperation, namely common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

The question of the Union’s legal personality has essentially been raised in connection with international relations, especially the power to conclude treaties or accede to agreements or conventions. The Union does not have institutionalised treaty-making powers, i.e. international capacity to enter into agreements with non-member countries. However, it pursues its own objectives at international level, whether by concluding agreements through the Council of the European Union or by asserting its position on the international stage, especially in connection with CFSP.