This event will feature two presentations by EUI LAW visiting researchers: "The CJEU’s Take on the Coordination of Social Policies in the EU – Combining Case Law Analysis and Empirical Legal Methods" & "Countering Foreign Interference through Secondary Legislation: Constitutional Dimensions"
The CJEU’s Take on the Coordination of Social Policies in the EU – Combining Case Law Analysis and Empirical Legal Methods
This presentation centers around the gains and (potential) pitfalls of combining doctrinal legal work and semi-structured interviews. I will present my mixed-methods approach in studying the CJEU’s response to the deployment of policy coordination mechanisms, such as the European Semester, in the field of social policy. Policy coordination mechanisms are characterised by the creation of soft guidelines and recommendations addressed to the Member States. Whilst formally non-binding, their implementation is often incentivised by conditionality mechanisms and financial pressure. I argue that they put the Court in a dilemma: What to do with non-binding standards that nevertheless shape EU and national law?
After a brief overview of findings from case-law analysis, I will present the interview questionnaire I developed to illuminate the views of individual CJEU members: Do they consider policy coordination documents a valid source for judicial interpretation? Which factors impact their attitude towards the use of soft law in judicial reasoning? For that purpose, my approach features a qualitative vignette study that gives structure to the interviews. It comprises three hypothetical case scenarios, which are inspired by actual Court cases, albeit significantly altered. I will ask the interviewees, (former) members of the Court, to rule on these hypothetical cases. As I aim to extract soft-law-related variables that impact judicial decision-making, I will conclude the presentation with my hypotheses on the most likely outcomes from this approach.
Focusing on cases on EU labour law, welfare state matters and anti-discrimination, I argue that this approach will bring new insights for studying the EU’s social model. Furthermore, this presentation will be of interest to researchers who are (considering) using socio-legal methods in exploring questions of institutional balance in the EU.
Countering Foreign Interference through Secondary Legislation: Constitutional Dimensions
In recent years, the EU has increasingly adopted secondary legislation with the aim of countering foreign interference in the democratic processes of the Union and its Member States. The measures range from transparency requirements regarding the financing of political advertising, through the protection of electoral infrastructure, to restrictive measures against individual media companies linked to third countries. These legal acts form part of the broader context of the EU’s ‘turn to democracy’ and reflect intensifying geopolitical challenges. At the same time, they raise fundamental questions under EU constitutional law, particularly with regard to the choice of legal basis and the compliance of individual provisions with fundamental rights.
The presentation will explore the EU constitutional law dimensions focusing on two concrete examples: the sanctioning of RT France and the Political Advertising Regulation’s specific provisions aimed at countering foreign interference. These two examples are emblematic of the various strands of ‘foreign interference legislation’ taking place both within and outside the Union’s legislative procedure. In concreto, the examples illustrate two distinct trends: first, the expansion of restrictive measures; and second, a growing reliance on internal market legislation, respectively (also) with the aim of countering foreign interference.
Against the backdrop of the two examples, the presentation argues that an interweaving of the ‘internal’ and ‘external’ dimensions can be observed. It examines the legal implications of this interweaving and highlights the inconsistencies it generates in the legislative process. Finally, the presentation outlines potential avenues for viable solutions, intended to stimulate the discussion.
Register