The EU and its common values in the face of its threats: Rule of Law, Democracy, Rights (immunodeficiencies and immunotherapies) in legislative acts and resolutions of the European Parliament

Abstract

As based on Law, the historical experience of European integration is unfolded in connection with the series of crises it has had to confront. The years since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty (LT) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (CFREU) have accelerated the pace and intensity of critical episodes. In doctrinal analysis, reference to the existential threats posed by certain shifting developments of globalization to its common values, principles, and constitutional traditions, as well as its social model, and more recently to its security and peace, has become increasingly frequent, posing a challenge to its distinctive foundations.

This essay discusses such threats and comments on the responses articulated by the EU, with particular attention to the debates, Resolutions, and Legislative Acts adopted by the European Parliament (EP) regarding EU Common Values and EU idea of Democracy.

It proposes three fronts for this purpose: first, the European idea of the Rule of Law and democracy, noting that no right can be taken for granted, nor freedom, nor democracy itself: they are always exposed to attacks and potential setbacks. In this section, the risks to the Rule of Law, the European idea of democracy, and its standard of rights (widely perceived as the highest in the world) resulting from technological revolution and the business model of large digital platforms. Subsequently, growing attention is payed to security and Strategic Autonomy.