Professor Panos Koutrakos:

I agree entirely with the response of Professor Tridimas. I would like to say, by way of context, that there is settled case law which tells us that even in areas where international law does not directly bind the European Union, the EU should try its best to interpret its law in a manner that is consistent with the international obligations of member states. The European Court of Justice does this because it does not want the supremacy of EU law to put member states in an impossible position where they would have to choose between complying with EU law or complying with international law.