The Ethical Spirit of EU Values

This open access book, summarising the research conducted at this Jean Monnet Chair, seeks to identify the ethical spirit of European Union (EU) values. EU integration began at the economic level; human rights were only added at a later stage. Finally, the Lisbon Treaty turned the EU into a ‘Union of values’ by enshrining certain concepts in Art 2 TEU. This provision can be seen as a hub linked to various other provisions of EU primary and secondary law. The values contained therein have, amongst others, been applied to two areas (digitalisation and non-financial reporting, partly in sports), and further specified in others (health and partly in sports). This book analyses the evolution of values (ratione temporis) and the questions of who is entitled and who is obliged (ratione personae). Besides the external perspective (ratione limitis; e.g., Brexit), it focuses on the composition of the EU’s common values (ratione materiae). As Art 2 TEU can be viewed as a hub, it is essential to focus on various relations, not only between values, but also between values and other provisions of EU law, as well as other concepts. Based on this description of the status quo, the book subsequently addresses a possible future direction, arguing for an additional narrative (trust), an additional value (environmental protection), and a more communitarian Union. In closing, apart from the classical commitment of the EU and the Member States to uphold the values of the EU, the book discusses the level of individuals and values as virtues. Various figures and tables complement this overview of the status quo of the Union of values and outline of its future direction

The Ethical Spirit of EU Values

This open access book, summarising the research conducted at this Jean Monnet Chair, seeks to identify the ethical spirit of European Union (EU) values. EU integration began at the economic level; human rights were only added at a later stage. Finally, the Lisbon Treaty turned the EU into a ‘Union of values’ by enshrining certain concepts in Art 2 TEU. This provision can be seen as a hub linked to various other provisions of EU primary and secondary law. The values contained therein have, amongst others, been applied to two areas (digitalisation and non-financial reporting, partly in sports), and further specified in others (health and partly in sports). This book analyses the evolution of values (ratione temporis) and the questions of who is entitled and who is obliged (ratione personae). Besides the external perspective (ratione limitis; e.g., Brexit), it focuses on the composition of the EU’s common values (ratione materiae). As Art 2 TEU can be viewed as a hub, it is essential to focus on various relations, not only between values, but also between values and other provisions of EU law, as well as other concepts. Based on this description of the status quo, the book subsequently addresses a possible future direction, arguing for an additional narrative (trust), an additional value (environmental protection), and a more communitarian Union. In closing, apart from the classical commitment of the EU and the Member States to uphold the values of the EU, the book discusses the level of individuals and values as virtues. Various figures and tables complement this overview of the status quo of the Union of values and outline of its future direction

The Ethical Spirit of EU Law

This open access book seeks to identify the ethical spirit of European Union (EU) law, a context in which we can observe a trend towards increasing references to the terms ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’. This aspect is all the more important because EU law is now affecting more and more areas of national law, including such sensitive ones as the patentability of human life. Especially when unethical behaviour produces legal consequences, the frequent lack of clearly defined concepts remains a challenge, particularly against the background of the principle of legal certainty. This raises the question to which extent the content of these references is determined and whether it is possible to identify an ethical spirit of EU law. Answering that question, in turn, entails addressing the following questions: In references to ethics concerning EU law, can we identify references to a particular theory of practical philosophy at all; and, if so, to one or more normative ethical theories (deontology, consequentialism, or virtue ethics)? Further, should these non-legal concepts be imported in an unaltered way (“absolute approach”), or be adapted to the legal context (“relative approach”)? This book explores the different layers of EU law (primary law, agreements, secondary law, and tertiary law), including the role of ethics in EU lawmaking and in EU case law, as well as the implementation of relevant EU directives in selected Member States. In addition to the above-mentioned normative philosophical lens, the book also analyzes the findings from the legal lens of EU integration, i.e., especially EU values, human rights and the cornerstone of human dignity

The Ethical Spirit of EU Law

This open access book seeks to identify the ethical spirit of European Union (EU) law, a context in which we can observe a trend towards increasing references to the terms ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’. This aspect is all the more important because EU law is now affecting more and more areas of national law, including such sensitive ones as the patentability of human life. Especially when unethical behaviour produces legal consequences, the frequent lack of clearly defined concepts remains a challenge, particularly against the background of the principle of legal certainty. This raises the question to which extent the content of these references is determined and whether it is possible to identify an ethical spirit of EU law. Answering that question, in turn, entails addressing the following questions: In references to ethics concerning EU law, can we identify references to a particular theory of practical philosophy at all; and, if so, to one or more normative ethical theories (deontology, consequentialism, or virtue ethics)? Further, should these non-legal concepts be imported in an unaltered way (“absolute approach”), or be adapted to the legal context (“relative approach”)? This book explores the different layers of EU law (primary law, agreements, secondary law, and tertiary law), including the role of ethics in EU lawmaking and in EU case law, as well as the implementation of relevant EU directives in selected Member States. In addition to the above-mentioned normative philosophical lens, the book also analyzes the findings from the legal lens of EU integration, i.e., especially EU values, human rights and the cornerstone of human dignity

Patient mobility in the context of austerity and an enlarged EU: The European Court of Justice's ruling in the Petru Case

Since 1998, the European Court of Justice (EUCJ) has established a set of principles concerning patient mobility across Member States. At present, these principles are challenged against a new background, i.e. an enlarged EU and austerity-driven measures in the field of healthcare. This is even more relevant in view of the significant differences between countries and between services on healthcare access. In the Petru case, a Romanian woman sought healthcare in Germany due to an alleged lack of basic infrastructure in her local Romanian hospital. A crucial question arises in this context of whether the patient's interests (i.e. right to cross-border healthcare) or the Member State's interests (i.e. financial stability of the healthcare system) prevail. We analyse this case and its implications for future patient mobility. From the point of view of patients, the EUCJ's decision implies that also a lack of medication and basic medical supplies can be claimed as “undue delay”, however for Member States it is sufficient to provide quality treatments in at least one hospital. Although the Court has provided a solution for the Petru case, we argue that major challenges remain, such as the definition of the international state-of-the-art or other limitations to reductions of the health basket

Food Labeling in the European Union: A Review of Existing Approaches

Purpose: This review explores the phenomenon of front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FoPNL) in the EU. FoPNLs highlight the nutritional quality of food and non-alcoholic beverages and help consumers to make healthier choices. The review explores different types of FoPNLs and evaluates their effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A policy analysis was conducted, relying on extant academic literature, grey literature and policy documents. The use of current FoPNLs is interpreted in light of national and economic interests. Findings: Our review identifies and describes seven government endorsed FoPNLs that are currently used in the EU. Five are positive endorsement labels (Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden), which provide a positive indication only on more healthy products. Keyhole is used in three EU countries (Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden), while the others are used in one country each. One (Nutri-Score) is a summary label, which provides an overall grade of how healthy a product is. It is used in six countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg). One is a nutrient-specific non-interpretive scheme, which shows the content of nutrients in a portion of a food product. All identified labels are only used on voluntary basis, encouraging selective use. Originality: This review is contributing to a much-needed discussion about food labeling in the EU. It summarizes existing approaches and evaluates them in terms of their effectiveness. The current schemes in use reflect regional clustering. The most common scheme is Nutri- Score. This is used predominantly in western EU states. The next predominant is Keyhole, with summary endorsement schemes being predominant in northern EU states. The least common is Nutrinform, which has some support in southern EU states. Nutri-score is most effective but economic interests have led to Nutrinform being supported in a small number of states. Overall, the review suggests that all existing FoPNLs are voluntary, thus failing to provide consumers with adequate information about nutrition quality of food products. The EU needs to mobilize support to agree on a single one