@article{2026:krogel:is_it_enou,
title = {Is It Enough to Say ‘Common Values’ When We Mean the Essence of European Integration? Reassessing the Understanding of Art. 2 TEU as the Identity of the EU Legal Order},
year = {2026},
note = {The contribution critically examines the idea that the common values
from Art. 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) constitute the
identity of the European Union (EU) legal order. This idea, formulated
by the Court of Justice in the rule of law conditionality decisions,
has been endorsed by many lawyers and scholars, including Julio
Baquero Cruz and Jean-Paul Keppenne in their chapter in the book on 70
Years of EU Law. The contribution engages with the fundamental
normative claims behind the conception of EU common values as
identity. First, it argues that, based on the EU constitutional
discourse, any conception of the EU legal order’s identity or
essence cannot easily exclude the Treaty aims of pursuing peace and
the socioeconomic well-being of European peoples. Second, the paper
submits that, despite the scholarly praise of ‘identity based on
commonality’, the concept of identity suggested by the Court does
not essentially differ from other constitutional concepts insofar as
it conceals inevitable political disagreements, tensions, and choices.
It is essentially particularistic due to its interpretative
contestability, as well as its selective legislative enhancement and
institutional implementation.},
journal = {Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht / Heidelberg Journal of International Law},
pages = {225--244},
author = {Krogel, Maciej},
volume = {86},
number = {1}
}