Defending EU values: Mission impossible?

Abstract

While Article 2 TEU lists six concepts as ‘values’ on which the European Union is founded, a look at other EU normative instruments and policy-oriented documents reveals inconsistency as to which abstractions should be conceived as ‘values’, as distinct from ‘principles’ and ‘objectives’. This inconsistency does not prevent the Union from defending the three core values of liberal democracy. Yet, the fluctuation in terminology does not bode particularly well for a concerted approach to the defence of Union values. Looking at the various remedies and mechanisms that the Union may be able to marshal with a view to defending its core values, some involve actions before the CJEU, while others are of a more political nature, and none of which are free from their own challenges. These challenges become all the more pressing in the current climate, which implies an increasing hostility towards liberal democracy and a move towards extremist ideologies. These developments would require a firm resolve to meet the challenges both internally and externally. Yet, the EU is not particularly potent in taking forceful and swift action in a political environment where the Union’s traditional ‘soft power’ is simply not good enough. Solving the present conundrum would require a significant overhaul of the constitutional system by creating a much more federal structure. That, again, seems like a pipe dream. Therefore, this contribution argues that it is national political developments in Member States, rather than legal norms, that will determine the future of European integration.