Economic and Social Integration: The Challenge for EU Constitutional Law

This well-researched book analyzes the positioning of EU constitutional law towards economic and social integration by contrasting liberal and socially embedded constitutionalism.

The book draws on a unique content and discourse analysis of all Grand Chamber decisions on substantive EU law since May 2004. It finds the EU's 'judicial constitution' to be more nuanced and more uniform than expected. While the Court of Justice enforces the constitution of integration, it favors economic freedoms under mainly liberal paradigms, but socially embeds constitutionalism in citizenship cases. The 'judicial constitution' contrasts with EU Treaties after the Treaty of Lisbon in that their new value base enhances European social integration. However, the Treaties too seem contradictory in that they do not expand the EU's competence regime accordingly. In the light of these contradictions, Dagmar Schiek proposes a 'constitution of social governance': the Court and EU institutions should encourage steps towards social integration at EU level to be taken by transnational societal actors, rather than condemn their relevant activity.

Economic and Social Integration will appeal to academics and postgraduate students in EU law, EU politics, European sociology, international relations, international law, labor law, and welfare state theory. Undergraduate students in labor law, policy advisors on EU social policy and welfare state, government departments and EU Commission departments will also find much to interest them in this book.

Dagmar Schiek, Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin, Ireland