Expanding the Territorial Reach of European Union Law: Current Realities and Trends

The article explores practice of expanding territorial scope of EU law, emphasizing the extraterritorial application regarding third countries through international agreements and acts of the EU institutions. This expansion is influenced by the universality of human rights and the need for economic integration, which involves complex legal relationships with third countries, notably Ukraine. It discusses the inconsistency in case law, affecting legal certainty in extraterritorial contexts. Additionally, the impact of EU law on the legal systems of third countries is studied, especially in economic relations, for example, in the area of free trade and free capital movement. The article highlights the EU’s commitment to integrating human rights considerations across all external policies, ensuring that its activities comply with international standards in human rights area, backed by EU common values and principles of EU law.