The European Union and the absence of fundamental rights in the Eurozone

A critical perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID7770921
AuthorsRobert Pye (University of Sheffield, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume24
Issue3
Pages567-589
Publication date2018-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of International Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1354-0661 • E-ISSN: 1460-3713
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1354066117703177
OpenAlexW2613812907
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited41

Despite the development of fundamental rights mechanisms in the European Union, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the governance of the Eurozone has led to policies that have undermined basic social rights. The purpose of this article is to explain why it is that the European Union has been able to act in this manner despite the assurances supposedly enshrined in its own rights guarantees. To do this, recent advancements in critical integration theory that posit European integration as the outcome of competing hegemonic projects are drawn upon. The construction of fundamental rights is conceptualised within the context of the institutional framework of the European Union and the current dominant neoliberal project. It is argued that the process of construction of rights has led to a highly restrictive understanding of what the concept of fundamental rights entails in the European Union. This has allowed European Union institutions to rhetorically commit to rights while simultaneously acting to undermine rights in practice

Charter · Economic system · Economics · European integration · European union · Fundamental rights · Human rights · International trade · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Social rights · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Global Financial Regulation and Crises · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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