CONSULAR COOPERATION OF EU MEMBER STATES IN A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS APPROACH

Consular authorities are the external hands of public administration of States established and worked with the consent of the host State. Consular relations of a State depend on its foreign relations which is basically an expression of sovereignty in the international relations of States. The European Union, by expanding beyond its original economic nature, is developing a coherent area based on the interests of its people. The EU is not a State; it lacks that special legal tie which connects States to its nationals, therefore the concept of EU citizenship was established as a tool for creating a special relationship to give a sense of togetherness and the feeling of being one big European nation, where the rights and possibilities are available for every citizen of the Member States. It includes the availability of help and protection abroad, on the territory of Third States. This concept exists since 1992, however, it is going through major changes as the integration is expanding and fundamental rights are gaining an increasing importance. The paper aims to highlight the topic of consular protection in the view of its recent developments and challenges along with questions of legal application issues.