The European Union's Fundamental Rights Myth*

Abstract

Although not in the Rome Treaty, the EEC/EU has gradually developed fundamental rights narratives which constitute a political myth. They have a common basis of foundational claims, placing fundamental rights, retrospectively, as inherent to the EU and based on a common European heritage. Like all myths, this narrative contains factual error, but is believed and acted upon by both institutional myth-makers and civil society actors. Through mythological free-riding on the Member States and the Council of Europe, the EU has been relatively successful in avoiding myth competition. Success in the longer run depends on broader myth appropriation, coherence and competition with other narratives. * I would like to thank Olivier De Schutter and the Cardiff Law School's COREPER reading group for useful feedback.

Assessing the Impact of European Union Citizenship: The Status and Rights of Romanian Nationals in Italy

“…At Rome in 1957, this would be summarised in the collection of free movement rights, made up of the right to move freely within Community territory in order to accept employment, to reside in another Member State for the purpose of employment and to continue residing in a Member State after having been employed (Maas, 2007, p. 12). The intention of removing borders to the mobility of Europeans was therefore framed with the labour market and employment, rather than any idea of equality or of shared rights between citizens (Smismans, 2010). Furthermore, Member States were able to prevent entry of nationals of EU Member States when they were considered to pose a threat to national security, public health or public policy (Hix, 2005, p. 348).…”

The EU Enlargement and Gay Politics

“…40-44, 54-58), an explicit narrative on fundamental rights specifi cally in external relations emerged only in the 1990s (Smismans 2010 ). After the fall of the Iron Curtain, and thus the prospect of EU enlargement to post-communist countries with a questionable track record in human rights protection, the European Commission 6 published the Human Rights Democracy and Development Cooperation Policy on 25 March 1991 (fi rst change in Fig.…”

“…2.1 ). This was the fi rst European developmental policy on democracy and human rights in the context of external relations (Smismans 2010 ).…”

EU Civil Society

“…At the time of their inception, anti-discrimination policies were perceived as closely bound up with a broader ethos of affirmation of fundamental rights which amounted to an emerging self-definition of the Union. The EU has historically defined itself through a set of 'mythologies' -and respect for human rights has been a defining one, together with a strong emphasis on anti-discrimination policies (Smismans, 2010). The inclusion of civil society groups -central to the failed Constitutional Treaty -was meant to actualise practices of participatory democracy which also included the voices of disenfranchised or politically marginalised minorities.…”