The EU Human Rights paradigm: Re(politicizing) European Integration Evanthia Balla

Abstract

This work contributes towards the discussion of bringing values and human rights at the centre of the debate over the future European political model. In this context, the first section of this chapter presents the foundational values of the EU and the main critiques and scepticisms on human rights related to the EU’s nature. The following section explores the evolution of the EU’s constitutional framework and the gradual inclusion of its values into the European law. The subsequent section addresses the EU’s legitimacy gap, focusing on populism and the recent democratic and rule of law crises within the EU. It seeks to show how those crises impact on the EU’s credibility as a ‘Union of values’. The final section builds on the discussion regarding the EU’s future political model in terms of becoming a more legitimate project capable of effectively expressing and protecting its foundational values.