Reshuffling our understanding of fundamental rights law in europe
Our continent is being shaken by a set of major challenges ranging from economic to security, refugee and rule of law crises. These events place unprecedented pressure on the institutional framework designed to hold Europe together since the second world war. 

The EU has emerged as the key player whenever the most fundamental rights of individuals are at stake. This is somewhat surprising. Since the 1950s, scientists have understood the European edifice as being based, on the one hand, on the Council of Europe designed to protect European values and fundamental rights in particular; and, on the other, on the EU intended to advance European (economic) integration. Therefore, it is the Council of Europe, an international organization distinct from the EU, that was initially placed at the forefront of fundamental rights protection. 

Yet, the EU is now taking the lead on setting fundamental rights standards. Benefits may be considerable where the EU offers strong institutional support. There may however also be a profound mismatch between the new function of the EU and its constitutional design. For instance, it may be inappropriate to address religious discrimination in employment – such as regulating the conditions for headscarf bans - through the same harmonization tools ensuring the free movement of goods. Are new concepts and legal tools needed to ensure trust in the EU system?

The principal investigator, an EU constitutional and fundamental rights expert, will critically assess the shift in the nature of the EU’s contribution to European fundamental rights law with a view to better defining the new function of the EU in the field and making recommendations to improve its ability to perform such a function. For that purpose, she will draw on three aspects: legal research highlighting the main features of this stronger decision-making powers of the EU; theory of law informing the implications of the EU’s new quest for European values; and political and social science investigating the impact on stakeholders’ strategies.