The Legal Relations of the European Union with the Vatican City State and Holy See

Abstract

The EU has differentiated legal relationships with its nearest geographical neighbours. Arguably, none is more unique than that of the EU with the Vatican City State (VCS) (and by extension, the Holy See). Between the parties is a mere ‘monetary agreement’ that facilitates the official use of the single currency in the territory. It is the only bilateral legal commitment that the parties have undertaken. Yet, this apparent simplicity masks a deeper reality. In fact, the monetary agreement currently in place, which replaced a prior monetary agreement, has now de facto put in an institutional framework on the legal relations of the EU with the Vatican City State and Holy See, with a Joint Committee to govern monetary arrangements, and an obligation to implement, in its own way, many aspects of EU financial regulation. The monetary agreement also provides for jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union to settle disputes arising therefrom. This article contextualizes and analyses the legal relations of the EU with the Vatican City State and Holy See, and argues that more embedded legal relations in the future will be inevitable, leading beyond a mere monetary agreement, but one leading to the adopting of a more sophisticated international agreement. EU, Vatican City, Holy See, Monetary agreement, EU acquis