It is a great privilege to write a foreword to this Festschrift, which is being offered to Jacques Bourgeois on the occasion of his 75th birthday. When, last year, I was asked to contribute to the Festschrift, my first reaction was: 'Is he 65 already?' So it is even harder for me to believe that Jacques turns 75 this August. He doesn't seem to have aged in the slightest since we first met many years ago. The passing of time has certainly not affected his work, his energy or his enthusiasm for the law. Jacques' career has been a rich one. To borrow the words of the EU motto, it is characterized by 'unity in diversity'. The practice of European and international law, and in particular of competition law and of trade law, is the unifying factor, while the different perspectives from which Jacques has practised the law provide the elements of diversity. As a 30-year-old man, Jacques joined the European Commission, the institution that is the guardian of the European Treaties. As one would expect of the outstanding person we are honouring in this book, he rose rapidly through the ranks and served for several years as head of the Trade Policy Instruments Division in the Directorate General for External Relations. From 1987 to 1991, he was principal legal adviser to the Commission, first in respect of foreign trade policy and later of antitrust policy. In 1991, his professional career underwent a big change when he moved to private practice. His charming personality, his extensive knowledge of every aspect of competition and trade law as well as of the internal 'cuisine' of the Commission proved to be the perfect combination and made Jacques one of the most successful attorneys at the Brussels bar. Thus, in private practice, Jacques Bourgeois excelled once again. He was recognized in the 2009 list of the 'Best lawyers in Belgium' in the areas of competition and trade law. Jacques is also an outstanding academic. He is a professor at the prestigious College of Europe in Bruges, a guest professor at the University of Ghent and was previously a visiting professor at the University of Michigan

Scope of application of Charter – What does ‘implementing Union law’ mean? – Application of v. derogation from EU law – Asylum cases, N.S. – Familiapress, Schmidberger, Viking – Implementing to include derogation – Annibaldi and Dereci – Interpretation of the Charter – ‘Provided for by law’ – The ‘essence’ of a right or freedom – Legitimate objectives and proportionality – Rights both in EU Treaties and in Charter: citizenship – Charter and ECHR – Constitutional Traditions, level of protection and deference – Article 53 not according to Solange, but like Omega and Sayn-Wittgenstein – Principles and Rights

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