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1 - European integration and the treaty on European Union

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Damian Chalmers  and
Adam Tomkins
Damian Chalmers
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Adam Tomkins
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
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Summary

Introduction

A book about European Union law is a book about the legal system of a particular organisation: the European Union. The name of this organisation was not chosen randomly from a handbook. It was chosen on the basis of the mission of that organisation, namely the realisation of two particular ideals, those of ‘Europe’ and ‘Union’, which each carry a legacy of rich, complex and contradictory associations.

Europe may be the territory which stretches from the Atlantic in the West to the Urals in the East, and Europeans, the people of that territory. However, even this highly contested definition assumes shared traits which distinguish Europeans from non-Europeans, and their territory from other territories. These have evolved over the years, as the idea of Europe and European ideals have been invoked to justify a number of causes and beliefs, and, as a self-consciously European body, the European Union taps into and extends this heritage. Consider, for example, the Preamble of the 2004 Constitutional Treaty, which was to relaunch European integration and will be discussed in chapter 2. The opening words state that its authors are:

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law,

BELIEVING that Europe, reunited after bitter experiences, intends to continue along the path of civilisation, progress and prosperity, for the good of all its inhabitants, including the weakest and most deprived; that it wishes to remain a continent open to culture, learning and social progress; and that it wishes to deepen the democratic and transparent nature of its public life, and to strive for peace, justice and solidarity throughout the world

Type
Chapter
Information
European Union Public Law
Text and Materials
 , pp. 1 - 43
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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References

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