Promoting the rule of law through EU external relations and the principle of non-intervention under international law

The increasing external activities of the European Union and the latter’s duty to uphold and promote its values, including the rule of law principle, in relations with third states, raise the question of the international law restrains the EU may face in confronting third states with its demands. More generally, it raises the question of the limits than can or should be set in relation to EU external normative action. This chapter asks to what extent the EU is restrained by the principle of non-intervention in relation to its Treaty brief to uphold and promote the rule of law in its relations with third states.